Last Dinner of 2011

I am kind of impressed with this dish. Ending the year on a really good note. I loved it, my nephew loved it, and I think my husband liked it too. There is none left. :-)

It didn't need any seasonings after it was finished cooking. I added salt to the onions and marinated the tofu in spicy teriyaki sauce. I also grated some fresh ginger on top of the zucchini.

First I sautéed sweet peppers, jalapeño, baby carrots, and onion.



Then I added in the marinated tofu, zucchini, and kale.



When it was done cooking, I topped my portion off with some flat leaf parsley and avocado.



I still have some peppers left. Gonna make something tasty for my husband since I will be doing my 3-day juice cleanse.

Produce

We checked out a Fresh Market store at the recommendation of a coworker. I was hoping to go to an outdoor market so I wasn't so sure about the idea but the place was very nice. Large selection of health foods for a small place.

We picked up a bunch of fresh produce along with some other items. My husband wanted bread and crackers, I picked out some capers, and we got some prepared food to-go.

Veggie wraps and sushi.

Tasted GREAT but I felt icky afterward. I am not sure why I am feeling so nasty after eating. I hope the juice cleanse helps with this. 

Bought a variety of fruits and veggies. Parsley, kale, spinach, pineapple, lemons, limes, pears, mango, carrots, bananas, jalapeño peppers, and ginger root. 

We also picked up some flavored waters, vanilla chai tea, and some freeze-dried fruit. We bought the fruit as a treat for the guinea pigs but I realized that they added cane sugar so it will have to be for us. :-) 

Bread & crackers for the hubby. Earth Balance, nut butters, capers, and larabars for us (me :-D). 

Last but not least, sweet potatoes! 

I am going to clean the fridge out and then start chopping some fruits and veggies. Still need to pick up some mason jars with lids. 

I am nervous about serving sizes, being hungry, feeling sick from not having any solid foods, etc. BUT I feel good about this and I am happy about my choices. 

This is a good start for a healthier lifestyle. I am tired of eating junk all the time. I'm excited for all the awesome super foods that are going to come my way. 

Vermints

Vermints. I like them. If you haven't tried them yet, what are you waiting for?

Stocking my Pantry

I went out to stock up on some essentials. I hope to always have a decent stock of food on hand as to not repeat my crisis from the Lentil & Chickpea post.

Here are some pics of my purchases.

Pasta, cereal, oatmeal, polenta, soup...


Beans, pumpkin, coconut milk, veggie broth, almond milk, balsamic vinegar, peanut butter, brown rice syrup, balsamic vinegar, raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar, & green olives.


Juice, raisins, nuts, seasonings, dijon vinaigrette, tamari,  & seaweed.


Hass Avocados were 10 for $10 :-D


My cupboard


I've been wanting one of these for a very long time!


Found some goodies for the freezer.


Not everything was a super healthy choice but I got stuff that was vegan and will help me with a vegan diet. I need to make sure I have food that appeals to me and my husband. Once we have a grasp on this I will move onto better choices.

Tomorrow I will be going to the Farmer's Market for produce. I also need to pick up some mason jars.

Preparation!

I'm enjoying my last two days as a non-vegan, eating the rest of the non-vegan food. I really think I will be able to stick to a vegan diet. I am very excited.

I've got some vegetarian samosas in the oven. Found them at Target and couldn't stop myself. This is a recipe I want to master. I love samosas!

Just took the samosas out. They are not my favorite which is good. So, I will need to find a vegan recipe. 

I bought a ton of groceries tonight. Will be making another post about that once I get the pics over. I'm just trying to prepare as much as I can to make this easier for us.


edited to add: these samosas made me feel very gross. Hours later and I am still nauseated. Let this be a lesson for me. Ugh.

Chickpeas and lentils: A crockpot adventure.

I have been thinking about curried chickpeas for a couple of weeks now. I've been thinking about making them, how I would make them, what I would make to go along with the dish....

So, this past Sunday I decided to use the dried lentils I have had on hand. After consulting my wise Facebook friends, I found out how much water to use while cooking the lentils in the crockpot (all the recipes I found were for soup). I started the lentils, tossed in some seasonings (curry, salt, pepper) and onions. I was on my way to a delicious meal!

I chopped up some baby carrots and drained my chickpeas so they would be ready to add. I was going to add fresh garlic but my garlic had gone bad! :-(

While searching for more flavor to add, I realized that I didn't really have much on hand. Someone suggested a few seasonings to try so I added some chili powder, cumin, and garlic salt.

Halfway through, I became extremely hungry but realized how bare my cupboards were. It would be awhile until my crockpot delight was done. I was making spaghetti but forgot about it when it was cooking. It turned to mush.

I had a Sunshine Burger left in my freezer. I heated it up in the microwave. Too long, it became extremely hard. I ate most of it on a whole wheat english muffin with some leftover tomato slices and some honey mustard. By the last bite, the burger had become too hard to chew.

By this time, I was even more hungry than before I had the burger!

I searched high and low for SOMETHING to eat. My feet were killing me but I had to stand long enough to make SOMETHING! I decided to make sweet potato fries. The sweet potatoes were too old. :-(

It was Christmas Day so pretty much everything was closed. *sniff sniff*

Eventually, the chickpeas and lentils were done. I was so sick of the smell of curry but I was starving. I made a bowl of it, added more seasonings, and chomped away. It wasn't ready. Plugged the crockpot in so the rest could cook longer.

This is what it looked like:


There is plenty leftover but I don't want to eat any more. I sent some with my hubby to work. I made some seasoned brown rice to go with it. I hope he likes it.

Anyway, my mom came to the rescue that night and dropped off a bunch of goodies. Most everything was dairy related. But I haven't started the vegan challenge yet.

If anything, I learned the importance of having a variety of staples on hand at any given time.

Planning a big shopping trip this next weekend. 

Fried veggies, tofu, and couscous.

Yum!

Spaghetti Squash

So easy to make, don't know why I don't eat it more often.

Recipe for Roasted Cauliflower with Red Bell Pepper, Green Olives, and Pine Nuts

This looks really good!

Recipe for Roasted Cauliflower with Red Bell Pepper, Green Olives, and Pine Nuts

Watermelon and Avocado Gazpacho

I have always been curious about gazpacho but too nervous to try it. I love tomatoes and I love fresh salsa so I think I will like it, but my aversion to tomato soup has turned me off to the idea.

BUT I just saw a recipe for Watermelon & Avocado Gazpacho and I have to say that I am intrigued.

http://honestfare.com/watermelon-avocado-gazpacho/

Must try this soon.

Oklahoma man loses more than 40 pounds by leaving meat, dairy behind | NewsOK.com

This is an inspiring story!

Oklahoma man loses more than 40 pounds by leaving meat, dairy behind | NewsOK.com

Temptation

It wasn't very difficult for me to stop eating meat. I craved meat but I never made exceptions. Cheese, ice cream, and other dairy-filled snacks have been so hard for me to kick.

My husband just left the store with a bunch of sugary snacks. I think the key will be to have plenty of healthy, vegan snacks on hand.

I am going on a trip in March. This trip will be a big motivater for me as I want to shed some weight and be in better shape for this trip.

Fresh

I am going to try my best to keep up with this blog and document my transition to a vegan lifestyle.

I've been a vegetarian for around 15 years now and try to eat as vegan as possible. Starting January 1st I am going to do a vegan challenge. Not necessarily for the New Year, I've been wanting to do it and January seems like the right month to start.

In the mean time, I will probably post some resources that I want to keep track of.

Please feel free to comment with positive vegan advice, recipes, and support.