New Dish! Homemade pizza! 10/28/17

Posted on October 29, 2017 by Beebamom

Before getting to the pizza, here’s what I had for lunch. It looks like maybe I had lot but I put this on a tiny dessert plate. It is the penne pasta leftover from the Penne with Asparagus on Tuesday and baked tofu. This is an unflavored baked tofu. I like it because it has a great texture and you can throw it into just about anything without having to cook it. Along with some parsley, this lunch took about a two minutes to make. One minute to cut up the parsley and tofu and one minute in the microwave!

Leftover penne repurposed with baked tofu and parsley

We had high hopes for this dinner. We made the dough for the pizza on Thursday and, as directed, left it in the refrigerator overnight. It did not increase in size hardly at all and when we went to shape it we had trouble getting it to stretch enough. We went with a non-tomato topping of mushrooms and caramelized onions with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. It came out kind of dry plus we overcooked it. According to the directions we were to cook it seven minutes but shortly after five minutes it was already starting to burn. On top of that the dough was too sweet. Back to the drawing board!

Pizza gone wrong

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New dish! Mushroom/spinach frittata. 10/27/17

Posted on October 28, 2017 by Beebamom

Food today seemed like same old, same old until we got to dinner – oatmeal for breakfast, celery soup and lettuce and tomato pita for lunch. But for dinner we tried something new. To top off this vegan/vegetarian day, a frittata made with eggs (duh), sauteed mushrooms, spinach, and parmesan cheese. After sautéing the mushrooms  in some olive oil in an oven proof frying pan, add a couple of cloves of minced garlic, and then the spinach and cook it to drive the water out. Let cool. Whisk together  8 eggs and add the onions, garlic and spinach.  Add parmesan cheese. Pour total mixture back into lubed frying pan. Cook until the bottom is set and then put it under the broiler watching carefully that it doesn’t burn. You might need to add a little more olive oil while cooking the eggs to make sure that the eggs don’t stick and of course season everything as you go along.

Serve with a salad and a couple of pieces of crusty bread. The picture below is 1/8 of the frittata or one egg’s worth. I ate two pieces.

Spinach and mushroom frittata with salad and crusty bread

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Vega- Vege- Pesca- tarian Day. 10/26/17

Posted on October 27, 2017 by Beebamom

I am doing the best I can to have a more plant-based diet. Sometimes I make mistakes and sometimes my lifestyle doesn’t allow me to be perfect. Today I started off with a vegan oatmeal breakfast. This was followed by a mostly vegan lunch except I forgot that mayonnaise has eggs in it. I made my super yummy celery soup for the first part of my lunch and followed it up with a pita pocket stuffed with tomato and lettuce (and mayonnaise.)

Wonderful celery soup dressed with celery leaves, Croatian olive oil, and Trapani sea salt

A great use for our wonderful tomatoes – a stuffed pita of tomatoes and butter lettuce (with mayo)

For dinner we made shrimp scampi over polenta with broccoli salad. We have been making excuses every time we have planned shrimp and usually ordered a pizza or Chinese food instead. Finally tonight we carried through with the plan and, boy, was it delicious! The acidic broccoli salad was a perfect foil for the scampi. I know we will make this again.

Shrimp scampi over polenta with broccoli salad

 

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Leftovers. 10/25/17

Posted on October 26, 2017 by Beebamom

I went out to lunch with my daughter so I just had a few odds and ends from the refrigerator and half a grilled potato tonight. On Thursday I will need to plan the next four or so days and go to the store to buy supplies.

Grilled potato, cherry tomatoes, and leftover vegetables

I think the tomatoes should be winding down soon. It has been a real joy having delicious tomatoes every day for months now. It will be sad to have to buy them from the store.

The green beans are from Chicken Monday and the asparagus and cut up penne are from last night’s pasta dinner. Waste not, want not!

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A favorite pasta dish! 10/24/17

Posted on October 25, 2017 by Beebamom

This morning we went out to breakfast. I am not a big fan of eating breakfast out because you always tend to eat more that you should have. Now you have the whole day to repent or try to repent. After having what was called a “mini-breakfast” (about two or three times what I normally eat), I needed to have a pretty perfect day.

For lunch I stuffed a half pita with lettuce, our wonderful tomatoes, and chickpeas, smashed and dressed with oil and oregano.

Smashed chickpeas in pita

For dinner we had one of my favorite pasta dishes, penne with asparagus and olive oil. The asparagus was only $2.79/lb. It must be asparagus time in South America. It was delicious and we have leftovers!

Penne with asparagus

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Chicken Monday. 10/23/17

Posted on October 24, 2017 by Beebamom

Chicken Monday is an institution at our house. It is a chicken oasis after a sometimes over indulgent weekend. It is a soothing reminder that not all the food is going to change. In my quest to become a part-time vegan one thing is never going to change, Chicken Monday.  To paraphrase a sexist bumper sticker, “Chicken Monday, Happy Husband.”

After starting the day off with our new regimen of oatmeal, we reheated and ate the rest of the Red Lentil Chili. I dressed mine up with some fresh tomatoes and cilantro.

Red Lentil Chili with fresh tomatoes and cilantro

Our dinner was pretty typical for a Chicken Monday – a chicken breast, couscous (a last minute substitution for some horrible tasting rutabagas), and green beans. We also made up a packet of chicken gravy.

Chicken breast, couscous, and green beans

My day was 4/5 vegan and 1/5 chicken. I am willing to accept that ratio some days. It makes for a more harmonious household.

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Challenging day turns out easy! 10/22/17

Posted on October 23, 2017 by Beebamom

I thought this day was going to be hard to stick to my new nutritional plan but it turned out fine. Pitfalls could be lunch out with our daughter and dinner at our son’s house.

After a quick piece of toast with peanut butter, daughter and I were off to get our hair cut by the amazing Gretchen. We are willing to schlep over to Burlingame for her expertise. We make a good half day of it ending with a late lunch out. Today she chose Baja Fresh because she likes it and she knows I can get something I want to eat.  I settled into a veggie Baja bowl that was good although contained way too many green bell peppers.

Baja veggie bowl with a lot of the green peppers already picked out

While I was gone John made deviled eggs as an appetizer to take to our son’s house. When we got there I was pleased to see that he had cooked saag paneer. It is not vegan but is at least vegetarian. And it was so good!! I loved the cheese cubes and also the sides of dal (lentils) and basmati rice. It was also wonderful to see my grandkids happily eating what is a pretty healthy dish.

Saag paneer with dal and basmati rice

I should have known that today would turn out great. Just seeing all my family makes the day special regardless of the food!

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New dish! Red Lentil Chili. 10/21/17

Posted on October 22, 2017 by Beebamom

Happily today was completely under my control. I started off with oatmeal and it was smooth sailing from there.

Since we have so many tomatoes I made myself a chickpea and tomato open-faced sandwich for lunch. I mashed up some chickpeas and added a little olive oil, salt, and thyme. It was yummy. I think I like chickpeas this way better than as hummus.

My chickpea and tomato sandwich amid the bounty of tomatoes!

For dinner we tried a red lentil chili that came in my email via The Washington Post. The only change we made was to use brown lentils because that is what we had. It was good and pretty spicy to boot. I have leftovers for lunches.

Red Lentil Chili

Today was a complete vegan day. Go, me!

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Home again. Yay for tomatoes! 10/20/17

Posted on October 21, 2017 by Beebamom

After a quick breakfast of half a bagel with peanut butter at the hotel this morning, we drove the rest of the way home. I come through the door and what do I see? Tomatoes!!! Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes! Although our daughter reports that the plants look like sticks with yellowing leaves they are still giving their all. They are so delicious after eating store bought tomatoes in Utah.

Wonderful tomatoes!

For my late lunch, I had a veggie burger on an English muffin with a lovely home-grown tomato.

Veggie on English muffin with tomato

So I have had my two vegan meals for the day and John and I are contemplating what to have for dinner. Around 6 PM we decided we were pretty tired and ordered a pizza for delivery instead. I know I could have made an effort and insisted on just a plain pizza but John and I really love an Italian sausage pizza so that is what we got.

Cheese pizza with Italian sausage

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Vegan on the road? Too hard? Help! 10/19/17

Posted on October 20, 2017 by Beebamom

I needed to eat three meals on the road yesterday. I wanted to eat at least two vegan meals and then one vegetarian. But unless I brought a paper sack of food with me, it wasn’t going to happen. I could manage three vegetarian meals but not three vegan ones at restaurants where I could get something quickly and filling. We had a long way to travel.

For breakfast we stopped at McDonald’s in Mesquite, NV. We had a Big Breakfast which comes with scrambled eggs, crispy potatoes, a sausage pattie, and an English muffin. I gave the sausage to John and ate the rest with a glass of water. Score: vegan 0  vegetarian 1

While John is driving I investigate where to eat lunch. According to Yelp! the Del Taco in Barstow, CA gets 4 1/2 stars. I go the website where they list a Fresca bowl that is right up my alley.

Del Taco’s Fresca Bowl

Unfortunately this Del Taco does not offer this! There is nothing even vegetarian on the menu. I ask the server  “do you have tacos that have no fish or meat?” No is the answer.  The server suggests that I could have a taco, hold the meat, add beans. So I order what she suggests.

So much cheese and one slice of anemic tomato

So I scrape off the cheese and eat the meager remnants of lettuce , some tasteless beans, an awful tomato slice, and a crunchy corn tortilla. Score: Vegan  0  Vegetarian  now 2   Sigh

We are spending the night in Bakersfield, CA close to a Macaroni Grill. I love the eggplant Parmesan that they serve here and I am frustrated trying to eat vegan. I am willing to say, okay, vegetarian today.

I love this eggplant Parmesan

Score: Vegan  0  Vegetarian 3!

Okay, I am not the perfect Vegan but at least I am trying! I would love to hear how you deal with choices on the road.

 

 

 

 

 

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