Errrmaaagerrrrd.

Yeah, I suck at sticking with things.  This blog is living proof of that.   I am working on changing that though, I really am.   For the past week I have been following along with the 21 day fix by Beachbody.  It has kind of been eye-opening if we are all being honest with each other.  The system includes a meal plan that is simply based upon eating a certain number of color coded containers.  Each container is what a serving size of the assigned food group is supposed to be.  It has made me realize that even though I was eating semi healthy, I was eating way too much of it.   There is also an exercise plan that goes along with it.  I have officially lost 8.2lbs in one week on the 21 day fix.   I have a long way to go but that is a very nice start and I look forward to seeing what week 2 brings.

My first week on the 21 day fix has been pretty easy.  I have not been hungry and have tried a lot of new meals and they were all delicious.  I owe part of that to the paleo meal plan on emeals.com.  Have you guys ever heard about them?  They send you a weekly meal plan based upon your eating style for dinner, complete with shopping lists & recipes.   It is a god send considering I not only work full time, but attend grad school with two kids and a husband that is in nursing school full time.  It makes things easy come dinner time.  I wish they had a similar set up for their lunch plans.  The lunches are often filled with things I cannot eat (ie gluten).

Anyways, here is a look of some of the things I ate this week.

Baked Indonesian Chicken with Napa Cabbage-Carrot Salad

Cajun Flanksteak with Spinach Salad

Turkey Goulash over Bacon Cauli-rice

My normal work stash for the day

No, I did not eat those cookies, instead I made a delicious Alive Pea Protein Ultrashake.  No Shakeology was involved in this loss, the Alive shake compares nutritionally and superfood wise AND its only $20 for a 30 day supply.  Bitches be cheap.

Wake Me Up

So, it has been over a year since my last post and well I wish I could say that I had continued on my journey and moved mountains, etc etc, but I can't.  I was derailed by the train of life and went back to my face eating ways.  I even went as far as to try the whole paleo movement which is like RAWR EAT ALL THE MEAT!  & well, I am back on the non face eating bus as of a couple of weeks ago.

Why you ask?  Well, eating meat did nothing for me but make me fatter and sicker.  My lupus made it obvious that it does not like animal proteins at all.  I was wiped out for almost a month with a flare that had me praying for death and well, that just is not acceptable.  I am sure eating paleo works for a lot of people but I am not one of them.   So here I am again, working towards a total plant based diet again.

I have signed up for Happy Herbivores weekly meal plans in an attempt to get more organized this go around.  With working full time and coming home and dealing with kids I just do not have the time to plan meals it seems.  Plus in a couple of weeks I will be going to school three nights a week so it will be mandatory that we have a plan through out the week in order to be able to actually eat dinner every night.  So far it has been good, I have tried some new meal ideas like tomato & hummus on GF bagels, loaded mexican sweet potatoes, and veggie  wraps so hopefully I can keep it up.   I am feeling the benefits already.

Vegan Lentil Soup.

I made a big batch of Vegan Lentil Soup that I found on Clean Eating Mama and must say, it was the bomb like Ben Afflek in phantoms, yo.

Ingredients

• 2 cups lentils, rinsed and looked over
• 6-8 cups of vegetable stock or water
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 2 cups of chopped yellow potatoes (I used sweet potatoes since that is all I had)
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped or tablespoon of garlic powder (I used 4 because I hate vampires)
• 3-4 carrots, chopped
• 3-4 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 1-2 bay leaves (I omitted because I had none)
• salt and pepper to taste

In a large soup pot pour your water/vegetable stock. Turn stove on high heat. Add rinsed lentils, carrots, garlic, onion, potatoes, herbs and some salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer (medium-low) and cover for an hour.
Check often to make sure water level is not too low, adding small amounts at a time.
The end result should be a thick and creamy soup, with the lentils being broke down and soft. Taste to make sure it is seasoned the way you like it, adding more salt and pepper if needed.
Serves 4-6

original recipe appears here

I did not take any pictures before I consumed it all, my bad.  It looked very lentil soupish if you can picture that in your head.

Party of One

So, we have made it a month without eating anything that once had a face.  It has been a pretty easy month and I must admit, I quite enjoy it.  Healthwise I am feeling better & I enjoy the experimenting with different recipes.  We have expanded our food horizions in the past month.   I think I will keep on with being meat free but won't be so strict when it comes to dairy, because well, I love cheese.  I plan on limiting the amount that I consume, but won't deny myself either.

Last night I tried a recipe that I randomly found on google and was pretty amazed by it.  I am still learning the best way to prepare tofu and the next time I make it I will slice it longwise so the actual pieces of tofu are thinner.  I am learning.

Anyways, onto the recipe.

Orange Glazed Tofu Stir Fry with Asparagus

Recipe from: Gluten Free Happy Tummy



1 bunch of asparagus — ends trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 leek — cleaned and diced (I must admit, I have never ever purchased a leek before so I just used an onion)3 garlic cloves — minced
1 block of tofu — drained, pressed and cut into triangles
green onion — sliced – for garnish (didn't use this either!)healthy splash of white wine (we were out so I used seaseme oil with a dash of sugar)1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 2 Tbsp water

Sauce:
juice of 2 oranges — preferably fresh pressed
zest of 1/2 orange (sounds fancy, didn't use)5 Tbsp low sodium Tamari (GF soy sauce)
1 garlic clove – minced
3 green onions – sliced (again, passed)2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 Tbsp water

Start out by pressing your tofu. (did you guys know tofu is supposed to be pressed? I didn't until last night)

Cut your tofu into 6 slices, and then place them on a clean-kitchen-towel-lined plate, and press with a heavy pan. While they’re pressing, make your sauce. After about 15 minutes, cut the slabs into squares, and then the squares into triangles. Season with salt and pepper.

OK. Take a big, non-stick pan, and spray it with EVOO. Then, place your tofu triangles in a single layer in the pan, and let them form a crust — about 5-6 minutes.  While they’re searing, sprinkle them with 1 Tbsp  sugar! Also, combine your sauce ingredients and set aside. Then, flip them, and let the other side sear for another 2 or 3 minutes.

Then add 1 tsp EVOO, your asparagus and leeks. Season with salt and pepper. Stir those around and let them cook for about 3 or 4 minutes. Then, add your garlic; give it a stir, and deglaze with the white wine. Let that evaporate for a minute, and then add your sauce. Coat all the tofu. Then stir in your cornstarch slurry. Let it thicken for about 2 minutes. Toss with your cooked pasta, and garnish with green onion! (I used brown rice and since we are not fancy, passed on that green onion)

 

* We had some veggies that needed to be used up before they went bad so we threw in some mushrooms, green peppers, and tomatoes to our stir fry.  I won't lie,  I have been thinking about making it again for dinner all day today. 

RST.

 

I have no idea how long we have been eating plant based now.  It feels like forever, but in reality I am sure we are only on like week 2 or something along those lines.  I do feel pretty good though.  I feel...healthier.  I haven't really lost any weight or anything amazeballs like that, but its Shark Week and I haven't gained my normal 10lbs of bloat so that is something.  

This weekend we discovered the Cordova Farmer's Market.  I have always wanted to check out a Farmer's Market but, uh, they are normally held outdoors and you have to get there at the butt crack of dawn to score the best items (or so I have been told) and well, I am outdoorsy in the fact that I like to drink on patios and don't do early mornings.  The Cordova Farmer's Market is basically a grocery store.  Its housed in a building that used to be a Schnuck's Grocery Store and has normal hours that do not require waking up before 9am on a weekend.   Their produce section was mind blowing.  They had a bunch of items that I had never even heard of before and the prices were pretty amazing too.  I can definitely sense it will be somewhere we go on the regular.

Moving on.  Tonight for dinner I decided to try a recipe out of the Forks Over Knives book.  I went with the Rice Stuffed Tomatoes and they were pretty delish.  I was worried they wouldn't turn out very tasty but I had two and am looking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow.  

Rice Stuffed Tomatoes

6 large very ripe tomatoes, at room temperature

1½ cups sliced mushrooms
1 cup chopped onion
Vegetable broth
One 10-ounce package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed
and drained
2 medium avocados, mashed
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon brown sugar or agave nectar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup quick-cooking rice
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons Parma! (vegan “Parmesan
cheese”), optional (I didn't use because, well, I've never seen this stuff IRL before)

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Cut a slice from the top of each tomato and scoop out the pulp,
leaving a ¼-inch-thick shell; set aside. Chop the tomato pulp
(makes about 3½ cups) and set aside.
3. Sauté the mushrooms and onion in some vegetable broth in a large
skillet over high heat. Cook, stirring, until tender, about 10 minutes.
Add spinach, avocados, reserved chopped tomatoes, garlic, basil,
sugar, salt, and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally,
until flavors blend, about 10 minutes. Stir in the rice, remove from
heat, cover, and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in ¼ cup of the Parma!
4. Place the tomato shells in a 13 × 9 × 2-inch baking pan. Spoon the
hot mixture into the shells, dividing evenly. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon
Parma! on top of each. Bake until the tomatoes are hot and the
filling is golden, about 15 minutes


PS - we are actually on our 3rd week of plant based eating, in case the curiosity was just killing you.

OneTwoThree

Dude, last night I made the Cajun Cornbread Casserole from the Everyday Happy Herbivore's cookbook and it was amazing.  I added a pinch of sugar to my cornbread topping but other than that, I followed this recipe to a T.  I unfortunately did not snap a picture of it because I was too busy stuffing my face.  Mr Smith had seconds so I know it was a winner!

Everyday Happy Herbivore’s
Cajun Cornbread Casserole
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 small onion, diced
2 celery stalks, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning (commercial blend, or make your own)
1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 to 2 tablespoons raw sugar (optional)
3/4 cup nondairy milk
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease an 8- or 9-inch square baking pan or casserole dish.
2. Drain tomato juices into a skillet, and chop tomatoes into smaller pieces. Set chopped tomatoes aside to use in Step 5.
3. Add water as necessary until a thin layer of liquid covers the skillet.
4. Sauté onion, celery, garlic and bell pepper over high heat until onion is translucent, bell pepper slices are tender and all of the water has evaporated, about 4 minutes.
5. Turn off heat, and mix in 1 to 2 tablespoons of Cajun seasoning, chopped tomatoes and kidney beans, stirring to combine. Set aside.
6. In a small mixing bowl, whisk cornmeal, baking powder, salt and, if desired, additional Cajun seasoning (several dashes, so the mix looks speckled when stirred). You can also add 1 to 2 teaspoons of sugar if you like a sweet cornbread topping. Then stir in nondairy milk and applesauce. It should be thick but spreadable, like hummus, and not dry.
7. Pour bean mixture into your baking dish, and pat down firmly with a spatula. Spread cornbread mixture on top, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cornbread is a deep golden, cracked and firm to the touch. Allow to sit for 15 minutes before serving. (I didn't let mine sit, I was hungry)

Wiggle it, just a little bit.

Today is Thursday.  That means no meat since Sunday so a total of what, 5 days?  My amazing husband has also managed to stick to it the past 5 days, so high fives all around.

This experience is definitely making me more aware of what is in food.  A trip to the grocery store involves reading every label and googling terms I am not so sure of.    I have also gotten pretty creative in the kitche as well, many thanks to the Happy Herbivore cookbook!

One of the dishes I made the other night was the Djion Pasta with Peas with Sweet Potatos as a side:

Why yes, that creamy substance covering the pasta is tofu.  It was pretty good but kind of bland.  We ended up adding some extra spices after it was done.

Last night, we had the Caribbean Portobello Mushroom burgers and they were #totesamaze.  Seriously, I could eat them every night.  We stuck with the sweet potato as a side only this time in the form of fries:

My god, they were magical.  I am ready to have them for dinner again, like tonightish, but I will probably wait and bring them over for 4th of July to grill out.