Thursday, October 1, 2015

Veggie Experiment Results

Hey guys!

My week of eating an all-veggie diet has come to an end.  I was a vegetarian for years and even went vegan for a year and a half around the time that I got married.  Not too long after getting married, though, I went back to being what I think is called a semi-vegetarian (eating poutry, fish, dairy, and eggs but skipping pork and red meat). Why?  Well, I was tired of fighting with Hubby about food (the fact that my in-laws were very angry and confrontational about it didn't help) and it was a lot of work and expensive... and well, I just did!

But ever since, I occasionally get curious again (or want to beat some congestion like this time) and take some time to experiment with a different diet.  Being vegetarian is very easy for me most of the time, while ditching dairy is more difficult even short-term.  (I think this is true for a lot of people.)  I always wind up going back to my semi-veg diet, though, because it feels the easiest and with a bit of effort I can look and feel really good on it.  It also plays into my desire to feel normal and not excluded.  Being treated like a weirdo because of what you eat gets really old really fast!

Here are some of the things that I made for dinners during the last week out of one of my all-time favorite meatless cookbooks: Chloe's Kitchen by Chloe Coscarelli.





White bean soup made with spinach, onion, and tomatoes.  I modified this recipe a bit since I couldn't find endives and tomatoes are out of season already here, but it turned out warm, comforting, hearty, and amazing.  Hubby had three big bowls and took the rest for lunch the next day!



Homemade veggie burgers and "secret sauce".  The cookbook calls for making these double double style (like a Big Mac at McDonald's with the extra bottom bun in the middle) but I forgot to buy buns so went without and got my carbs from homemade oven baked fries that were still in the oven when I took this picture while Hubby had his on toast.  These are by far the best homemade veggie burgers I've ever made and they're pretty inexpensive to make too if you use brown rice in place of tempeh (which the Commissary doesn't have anyway).  They fry up firm and crisp and are quite hearty thanks to canned lentils and walnuts.  The secret sauce is made with soft tofu and is one of those rare tofu recipes where Hubby digs in without a suspicious, "What's in this??"


This potato and onion soup recipe isn't from Chloe's Kitchen, and it wasn't strictly vegan since I used chicken bouillon since it was what was already in the pantry,  but it was another hit that could easily be made vegan: sauteed onion, celery, and potatoes simmered with broth until tender.  A perfect cold weather meal!





These mushroom won-tons were our Friday treat and they were very delicious but a LOT of work.  The filling ingredients had to be washed and chopped, sauteed, ground up in a blender, sealed in won-ton wrappers, and both fried and steamed. Phew!

I still love this cookbook, though, and it's something I will probably continue to go back to from time to time.  Who knows if it will ever stick permanently, though?!?  I mean, I did buy dairy and chicken at the Commissary the other day!

Check out what I ate this Wednesday here:



What did you eat this week?

Stay stylish!

Amy

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