It is truly amazing. I am going to guess that its been more than a month since I have posted here. We really veered off the vegan path. I remembered why it is was so difficult to remain vegan. I started getting really thin, which makes my legs look like this - !! - Really.
What I like now about the the dietary move is that we kind of had to go "all the way" to really see where we had come from. Rather than going to the store and stocking up on linguica, bacon, Italian sausage, and salty snacks, which I admit are mindlessly easy to purchase and cook, I now spend a little more time making healthier choices, cooking at home again, and as a result, I think we have found a nice balance.
Sad to say, my husband's nephew passed away a couple of weeks ago. We are attending his memorial service this Saturday. Phil got out his "funeral/wedding outfit" to make sure the pants still fit. As I recall, the last time he put them on the pants were so tight around his waist, I thought even he would admit he needed to lose a few pounds. This morning, he put them on and he even had a little room in the waistline. I am so happy, and so is he. It is neat when you can finally see the fruits of your struggle.
Actually, he had not struggled much. Of course! He doesn't do the grocery shopping or cooking. :-/ He still eats his pretty much the same; breakfast cereal with cows milk or soy milk and sandwiches at lunch. But we eat better at dinner and with less salt and fewer fats, it shows. I did start buying cheese again recently, and that may add the pounds back on, so my next step is to reduce the cheese in the fridge.
As for me, cutting back on my favorite foods - fried foods - has been a challenge. So, I decided to try on the dress I am going to wear to the service. It fit me a little more loosely. Very cool. But eating a little meat helps fill my skinny legs out a tad, so I feel better.
Lunch is taquitos. I know! fried food? Well, truth be told, I am not a fan of chicken breasts, but purchase them occasionally, because it is fast and easy to prepare a healthy meal with them. Rolling the meat up in tortillas and frying it is about all I can stomach of the chicken at this point. The other day, I boiled two breasts to shred for burritos, tacos, etc. We have exhausted the burrito and taco thing, so for lunch I am going to finish up the shredded chicken and treat us to taquitos with salsa and guacamole.
For dinner tonight, a salad and lentils.
Thursday, June 15, 2017
Monday, April 17, 2017
What exactly IS tofu?
For the person who strives to eat "food as grown" as Dr. Hans Diehl calls the vegan diet, eating tofu is such a conundrum. What exactly is tofu? Obviously some processing is involved in its creation. It doesn't grow on trees, and I can't find tofu seeds in the local nursery. As I strive to eat better and feed my family fewer processed foods, I am really on the fence about tofu.
However, there are a couple of dishes that make me turn the other cheek. Its kind of like ordering a BLT without the B. WHAT???!!! Why? One can't make Scrambled Tofu without tofu. Simple as that! If you have never tasted Scrambled Tofu, you simply have to try it. I don't have kids, so not sure how this goes down with the 10 and under group, but my husband will eat it if he has no alternative, so that's close. 😅 What I love about scrambling tofu is that (no joke) it tastes like whatever you add to it. You may even get a few vegetables into the easily fooled and hungry spouse. I never make a big deal about that, though, or he will turn down the broccoli at dinner stating he had veggies for breakfast. It's a "no win" battle in our house.
So, I need to back up here and recall the past week's journey. Oh yes, we fell off the wagon big time. Last week I had lunch with my sister in Sacramento at the Tower Cafe. There were only a few items I could have ordered off the menu without the meat, mayo, cheese, and butter. However, I am always suspicious as to (1) whether they are really doing those things, (2) if the alternative is better for me (back to the original question: what is in all those meat substitutes?), and (3) if I am going to be charged $13.00 for a flat iron steak salad without the $8.00 steak. Basically, it bugs me to have to modify my order. Why can't it be easier to eat out and get a healthy, hearty meal?
**Restaurant ordering tip: I saw my sister's sirloin steak salad with tons of veggies, nuts, and a big steak sliced on top. She immediately asked for a TO GO box and place half of her salad in the box. Next time I am in this situation, if I am stuck with meat or cheese in my salad, I am going to order the meat, but please put it on the side; :-) slap it into a TO GO box and bring it home for Phil or Duke.
That said, I chose to order a BLAT and asked him to hold the B. So sad. I think I even choked out the words, knowing I would be paying for the $13 sandwich without the most expensive item. Gauls me. At any rate, I must have swallowed my order, because the sandwich came with bacon.😲 I did not have the mental fortitude to remove the bacon so I choke it down. 😆 Of course, it was delicious, but the next day, I did feel the effects of the bacon - intestinal distress and a headache. It was a good lesson in eating well. The less I eat non-nutritional foods, the more they disrupt my metabolism when I do indulge.
I ate pretty well and vegetarian the next few days until we decided to make a trip to Costco. Big Mistake. Again, hungry, I had a polish dog. Please, Lord, let me be strong and never do that again. I made it through the first sixty years of my life without eating at Costco. I think I can survive the rest of it without eating there again.
Easter weekend we went to a party and it was easy to choose healthy foods among all the lovely food choices. I was easily able to avoid the hamburgers and hotdogs.
However, there are a couple of dishes that make me turn the other cheek. Its kind of like ordering a BLT without the B. WHAT???!!! Why? One can't make Scrambled Tofu without tofu. Simple as that! If you have never tasted Scrambled Tofu, you simply have to try it. I don't have kids, so not sure how this goes down with the 10 and under group, but my husband will eat it if he has no alternative, so that's close. 😅 What I love about scrambling tofu is that (no joke) it tastes like whatever you add to it. You may even get a few vegetables into the easily fooled and hungry spouse. I never make a big deal about that, though, or he will turn down the broccoli at dinner stating he had veggies for breakfast. It's a "no win" battle in our house.
So, I need to back up here and recall the past week's journey. Oh yes, we fell off the wagon big time. Last week I had lunch with my sister in Sacramento at the Tower Cafe. There were only a few items I could have ordered off the menu without the meat, mayo, cheese, and butter. However, I am always suspicious as to (1) whether they are really doing those things, (2) if the alternative is better for me (back to the original question: what is in all those meat substitutes?), and (3) if I am going to be charged $13.00 for a flat iron steak salad without the $8.00 steak. Basically, it bugs me to have to modify my order. Why can't it be easier to eat out and get a healthy, hearty meal?
**Restaurant ordering tip: I saw my sister's sirloin steak salad with tons of veggies, nuts, and a big steak sliced on top. She immediately asked for a TO GO box and place half of her salad in the box. Next time I am in this situation, if I am stuck with meat or cheese in my salad, I am going to order the meat, but please put it on the side; :-) slap it into a TO GO box and bring it home for Phil or Duke.
That said, I chose to order a BLAT and asked him to hold the B. So sad. I think I even choked out the words, knowing I would be paying for the $13 sandwich without the most expensive item. Gauls me. At any rate, I must have swallowed my order, because the sandwich came with bacon.😲 I did not have the mental fortitude to remove the bacon so I choke it down. 😆 Of course, it was delicious, but the next day, I did feel the effects of the bacon - intestinal distress and a headache. It was a good lesson in eating well. The less I eat non-nutritional foods, the more they disrupt my metabolism when I do indulge.
I ate pretty well and vegetarian the next few days until we decided to make a trip to Costco. Big Mistake. Again, hungry, I had a polish dog. Please, Lord, let me be strong and never do that again. I made it through the first sixty years of my life without eating at Costco. I think I can survive the rest of it without eating there again.
Easter weekend we went to a party and it was easy to choose healthy foods among all the lovely food choices. I was easily able to avoid the hamburgers and hotdogs.
Sunday, April 9, 2017
Pizza anyone?
Back to our journey. Not unlike so many other women, I had a tough week. I had a back ache that took me out of commission for several days. I was not about to work, then stand in front of the stove making dinner. Honestly, the worst days, we ate leftovers and I made a wonderful Moroccan Lentil soup. I love the soup because it has has lots of herbs and spices with medicinal and anti-inflammatory ingredient. It is easily paired with a salad or sandwich. Phil still eats tuna, so he had tuna sandwiches and I had tortillas with avocado. We ate the soup for two nights. I froze the rest. The following night I put two potatoes in the oven and sauteed some mushrooms and probably had salad. Can't recall. Oddly we can't even eat an entire potato any more, so the next night we had leftover potato. I had come home sore and tired from work, I pulled the soup out of the freezer had it a third night. Phil added the soup to his potato. He said it was delicious.
Once I started feeling better, I went to the store and bought vegetables and a block of extra firm tofu. We had Korean Caramelized tofu, quinoa, and vegetables. The next evening, I made some "oven-fried" chicken strips to eat with the leftover quinoa and coleslaw. I have decided to eat a little chicken and beef, but only organic*. We now can share one beef steak and have leftovers.
The two-breast chicken package allowed me to make 8 strips. It was as close to fried as I have come to in a long while. We really enjoyed them. I had broken down and bought a package of coleslaw mix. I usually don't like to buy precut, prepackaged vegetables, but honestly, in a pinch they are great. With only two of us in the house, it eating entire head of cabbage can get old real quickly
Yesterday I got back to work and made a vegan pizza. Yup. I made the crust, but I suppose you can buy one. Phil had never eaten a vegan pizza, so I made 1/2 with cheese and 1/2 without. I told him which was which, but he went for the vegan side anyway, as there were more vegetables.
*I do like the taste of beef and will grudgingly eat chicken. I believe we can eat a healthy diet with a smattering of these two ingredients into our diets. My desire to change our diets and lifestyle come from the family history of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. I know if we don't consume any animal fat we can reduce our risk for both. Therein lies another conundrum. Most of the meat substitutes and cheese substitutes are made of soy, which is getting a bad rap for being genetically modified. Therefore, is it better to eat lots of GMO tofu and cheese substitutes or a bit of organic antibiotic free chicken, beef, and cheese? Stay tuned.
April 1 - Fool's Day
I am really grateful for the Diabetes Undone course. It really helped me get back on track. I LOVE greasy, fried food and red meat, so it was so easy to let my self run down that rabbit hole. I was able to hit the reset button with this course and eat little meat now, no fried foods (OK with the exception of the occasional bag of potato chips), and am learning to eat more fruit and veges. The legumes are the easiest, but they can get boring. Now that I have the legume thing down, I will start concentrating on adding veges to my diet.
Sunday, March 26, 2017
Sunday Night Dinner
So after going through the entire weeks worth of trying to eat vegetarian, I don't think we did half bad. We ate a half a steak, Phil forced himself to eat almost half a combination pizza, and we almost ate an entire quiche.
We did go out to eat once. We had Thai food for lunch. Not that it was our first choice. WE left moms and headed for the local Taqueria. It was packed, so we decided to try the new local deli. We struggled to get there due to the traffic. It was closed. We started to head to Panera Bread, but the traffic talked us out of it. We started mindlessly driving around, which often happens to us in Manteca on a Sunday afternoon (one would think we would learn). We drove by the Thai restaurant that is usually closed, but it was open. Score! I had a curry with tofu and spring rolls. Phil had something else. :-/
Sunday dinner: leftovers. Pizza. Fruit salad. Thai leftovers. And we still have stuff to eat tomorrow! Steak. Potato. Thai. Tofu and veges. I have to cook less.
We did go out to eat once. We had Thai food for lunch. Not that it was our first choice. WE left moms and headed for the local Taqueria. It was packed, so we decided to try the new local deli. We struggled to get there due to the traffic. It was closed. We started to head to Panera Bread, but the traffic talked us out of it. We started mindlessly driving around, which often happens to us in Manteca on a Sunday afternoon (one would think we would learn). We drove by the Thai restaurant that is usually closed, but it was open. Score! I had a curry with tofu and spring rolls. Phil had something else. :-/
Sunday dinner: leftovers. Pizza. Fruit salad. Thai leftovers. And we still have stuff to eat tomorrow! Steak. Potato. Thai. Tofu and veges. I have to cook less.
It's been another week
I probably should be striking days off the calendar so I can keep better track of time. How will I know when I have arrived at the end of the journey if I don't know where I am? Time really does fly! I think it's been a week since my last posting. As far as my own diet, I have stayed pretty vegetarian, but still eat the occasional chunk of cheese and have been adding Parmesan cheese to top the tacos. Oh, yes, and a little meat. But I will get to that later.
I did, however, purchase some Vegan Gourmet cheddar cheese substitute that wasn't too bad. I used it on tacos and tostadas. The color and size were right for the job. A very flavorful salsa, though, made up for the lack of taste in the "cheese-like". I am having a struggle here. If you read the label of contents on the vegan cheese-like products, some are difficult to pronounce and to be honest, are not things I would have normally considered human food. If you read the label on cheddar cheese, it says milk and enzymes. I think as long as I get my cheese from a environmentally friendly and humane dairy, I think I can fudge a little. I do know that we are eating far less cheese these days. I generally used to buy a 1 pound piece of cheddar cheese a week and we go through it all. We also go through lots of Parmesan, as Phil loves spaghetti. Truth be told, though, he only puts Parmesan cheese on it because he sees me do it. I don't think he would miss it. My final test is going to be making enchiladas with the cheese-like. Stay tuned.
During the week, I made a batch of pinto beans and we had tostadas. I also really fell off the wagon and made a quiche. Yup! eggs, cheese, and milk. But it was vegetarian.:-} I don't know. It sounded really good and I loved the thought of the Gruyere cheese made me "cross the line". Oddly, we didn't even finish it. I tossed out the last piece.
Thursday, Phil was done with beans and grains so ordered a pizza. I love pizza, but noticed it was really not as tasty as it has been in the past. I noticed how greasy it was, too. Next time: Vege gourmet with no cheese :-)
Friday I made a wonderful recipe called Caramelized Korean Tofu. I mixed up some leftover rice and steamed a combo brown-wild-short grained rice and lentils. It was a little sticky, probably because of the Arborio rice. I have never simply steamed it. At any rate, in a separate pan I fried vegetable in a drizzle of EVOO. Bell pepper-broccoli-asparagus-onion-mushrooms-celery (what I had in the fridge). About 10 minutes before the rice was ready, I mixed up the sauce for the tofu and fried the tofu patties in a pan. SO GOOD!
Saturday even I was getting tired of trying to figure out new things to eat. So out came the New York steak. I baked 2 potatoes, ala America's Test Kitchen. Now, you wonder why on earth anyone would need a recipe for baking potatoes. Trust me, You gotta try this recipe! The potato is cooked perfectly. The peel was crusty. Perfect. We added a salad. Pretty traditional meal. Funny thing was, we didn't even eat the entire steak.
I did, however, purchase some Vegan Gourmet cheddar cheese substitute that wasn't too bad. I used it on tacos and tostadas. The color and size were right for the job. A very flavorful salsa, though, made up for the lack of taste in the "cheese-like". I am having a struggle here. If you read the label of contents on the vegan cheese-like products, some are difficult to pronounce and to be honest, are not things I would have normally considered human food. If you read the label on cheddar cheese, it says milk and enzymes. I think as long as I get my cheese from a environmentally friendly and humane dairy, I think I can fudge a little. I do know that we are eating far less cheese these days. I generally used to buy a 1 pound piece of cheddar cheese a week and we go through it all. We also go through lots of Parmesan, as Phil loves spaghetti. Truth be told, though, he only puts Parmesan cheese on it because he sees me do it. I don't think he would miss it. My final test is going to be making enchiladas with the cheese-like. Stay tuned.
During the week, I made a batch of pinto beans and we had tostadas. I also really fell off the wagon and made a quiche. Yup! eggs, cheese, and milk. But it was vegetarian.:-} I don't know. It sounded really good and I loved the thought of the Gruyere cheese made me "cross the line". Oddly, we didn't even finish it. I tossed out the last piece.
Thursday, Phil was done with beans and grains so ordered a pizza. I love pizza, but noticed it was really not as tasty as it has been in the past. I noticed how greasy it was, too. Next time: Vege gourmet with no cheese :-)
Friday I made a wonderful recipe called Caramelized Korean Tofu. I mixed up some leftover rice and steamed a combo brown-wild-short grained rice and lentils. It was a little sticky, probably because of the Arborio rice. I have never simply steamed it. At any rate, in a separate pan I fried vegetable in a drizzle of EVOO. Bell pepper-broccoli-asparagus-onion-mushrooms-celery (what I had in the fridge). About 10 minutes before the rice was ready, I mixed up the sauce for the tofu and fried the tofu patties in a pan. SO GOOD!
Saturday even I was getting tired of trying to figure out new things to eat. So out came the New York steak. I baked 2 potatoes, ala America's Test Kitchen. Now, you wonder why on earth anyone would need a recipe for baking potatoes. Trust me, You gotta try this recipe! The potato is cooked perfectly. The peel was crusty. Perfect. We added a salad. Pretty traditional meal. Funny thing was, we didn't even eat the entire steak.
Sunday, March 19, 2017
Sunday; Its been 5 days
Time does fly! Wednesday I worked and took a stuffed bell pepper for lunch. In case it wasn't enough, I tossed an avocado into my bag. Didn't need it. The bell was plenty. I kind of made the recipe up of leftovers.
I cut the bell peppers lengthwise, mostly because they were different sizes and I thought they would cook more uniformly that way. It was pretty at the end and were much easier to stuff and to keep from falling over.
From the freezer I pulled some frozen brown rice. I had some lentils in the fridge, sauteed onions, mushrooms, pieces of bell pepper, and garlic. I added the rice, lentils, and tossed with marinara sauce. The sauce had lots of flavor, including a touch of cayenne pepper. Sometimes when I put up marinara sauce, I add red wine or fennel, which flavors some of the Italian sausage. Oh yes...back to my original discovery, I added salt and pepper to taste.
I baked them for about 1/2 hour. Tasty!
Wednesday I believe we had leftovers. There are always plenty of those in the vegan household. Beans. Rice. Quinoa. At any rate, but Thursday we had cleaned up the leftovers and I was ready for an easy meal. I was ready for a little meat, albeit chicken. :-/ I made walnut covered chicken breasts, quinoa and asparagus. Oddly, between us we barely ate one half breast. Good job!
Friday was a rough day. Tax day and some unpleasantries between us. I tried not to allow that to throw me off my game, so I made red beans and rice for dinner. Needless to say, we had the same dinner Saturday. For lunch Phil made tuna and had a tuna sandwich. Not me. I thought we really needed something sweet, but since we had no milk in the house, I found a really good vegan recipe for Healthy Flourless Pumpkin Blondies. They were actually tasty and the recipe is on recipe blog.
For lunch today I believe we just ate leftovers and snacked. After we came home from Mom's, I realized we needed a good dinner so made a Broccoli-Mushroom quiche. I know. It is not vegan, but it filled us both up, satisfied our need for the fat, and was delicious.
I cut the bell peppers lengthwise, mostly because they were different sizes and I thought they would cook more uniformly that way. It was pretty at the end and were much easier to stuff and to keep from falling over.
From the freezer I pulled some frozen brown rice. I had some lentils in the fridge, sauteed onions, mushrooms, pieces of bell pepper, and garlic. I added the rice, lentils, and tossed with marinara sauce. The sauce had lots of flavor, including a touch of cayenne pepper. Sometimes when I put up marinara sauce, I add red wine or fennel, which flavors some of the Italian sausage. Oh yes...back to my original discovery, I added salt and pepper to taste.
I baked them for about 1/2 hour. Tasty!
Wednesday I believe we had leftovers. There are always plenty of those in the vegan household. Beans. Rice. Quinoa. At any rate, but Thursday we had cleaned up the leftovers and I was ready for an easy meal. I was ready for a little meat, albeit chicken. :-/ I made walnut covered chicken breasts, quinoa and asparagus. Oddly, between us we barely ate one half breast. Good job!
Friday was a rough day. Tax day and some unpleasantries between us. I tried not to allow that to throw me off my game, so I made red beans and rice for dinner. Needless to say, we had the same dinner Saturday. For lunch Phil made tuna and had a tuna sandwich. Not me. I thought we really needed something sweet, but since we had no milk in the house, I found a really good vegan recipe for Healthy Flourless Pumpkin Blondies. They were actually tasty and the recipe is on recipe blog.
For lunch today I believe we just ate leftovers and snacked. After we came home from Mom's, I realized we needed a good dinner so made a Broccoli-Mushroom quiche. I know. It is not vegan, but it filled us both up, satisfied our need for the fat, and was delicious.
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Tuesday, the day after...
Can't even remember what I had for breakfast. I had to get up and take the front door screen in to get rescreened at 8:00. I recall having a piece of toast and an orange. Not a filling breakfast, but I didn't recall snacking. But if I did, it was on almonds, which I have chosen to have nuts in containers on the counter. Best snack EVER!
Lunch:
Phil and I had a good day together. Yesterday I was irritated because it was about our 3rd warm day and the front door was opened all day. I was irritated that he had not gotten the screen door rescreened before we had to look at again all summer. We could not have done that any way, because there was too much cat claw damage to continue to cover with scotch tape. So I got mad, called around, and was told at the local glass shop they could rescreen it today if I got it in at 8:00. This morning he got up and removed the screen so I could get it to the shop. Then they said it would take a week! WHAT!?? I was so irritated, but the reality is there is not point in getting irritated. I made my point about the promise over the phone, and she said she would try since I had been misled over the phone.
Bottom line: Phil was right again. There was no point in hurrying to get to the shop by 8 AM. I think I will do give my health the best advantage by learning to not sweat the small stuff. (But someone has to, right?).
At any rate, we went into Escalon and got our hair cut, ate lunch at the taqueria, went to the grocery store together, and had a good day. It was fun to eat together, discussing how to order vegan and healthy food. We also had the opportunity to make grocery store choices together. Nice. I purchased lots of vegetables and made stuffed bell peppers for dinner. He tossed sliced ham in the cart. That was actually good for a dyed in the wool sandwich eater.
I want to
Lunch:
Phil and I had a good day together. Yesterday I was irritated because it was about our 3rd warm day and the front door was opened all day. I was irritated that he had not gotten the screen door rescreened before we had to look at again all summer. We could not have done that any way, because there was too much cat claw damage to continue to cover with scotch tape. So I got mad, called around, and was told at the local glass shop they could rescreen it today if I got it in at 8:00. This morning he got up and removed the screen so I could get it to the shop. Then they said it would take a week! WHAT!?? I was so irritated, but the reality is there is not point in getting irritated. I made my point about the promise over the phone, and she said she would try since I had been misled over the phone.
Bottom line: Phil was right again. There was no point in hurrying to get to the shop by 8 AM. I think I will do give my health the best advantage by learning to not sweat the small stuff. (But someone has to, right?).
At any rate, we went into Escalon and got our hair cut, ate lunch at the taqueria, went to the grocery store together, and had a good day. It was fun to eat together, discussing how to order vegan and healthy food. We also had the opportunity to make grocery store choices together. Nice. I purchased lots of vegetables and made stuffed bell peppers for dinner. He tossed sliced ham in the cart. That was actually good for a dyed in the wool sandwich eater.
I want to
Day 25: Monday
The last day of Diabetes Undone is tonight. Kind of mixed emotions.
I think for breakfast we had leftover waffles, eggs, and Soyrisa. Typical.
I am finding it challenging to cook 3 meals a day. I think it is easier to eat out as an excuse for varying off the diet. I need to find a system. I am thinking I can make a pot of beans that we can eat in two or three meals. I can make a pot of grain that I combine with vegetables, herbs and spices to make various meals.
Back to lunch:
I was going to make tostadas, but had no pintos cooked and available. I did, however, have some chicken in the freezer leftover from the roast I had bought last week. I took it out, thawed it, shredded it, and heated it up in a small pan with a few drops of water and a pinch of chili powder. Heated a little more Soyriso, and along with the other ingredients we had soft tacos for lunch.
I am happy eating that way, because its fast! If I had mushrooms available, I could eat mushroom tacos. I went back and added that to my grocery list. Mushroom risotto, mushroom Stroganoff, mushrooms for tacos, tostadas, pizza, the list goes on.
Dinner
I dropped by my friends home on the way to class. She is not feeling well, so I took her a few books and some Norwex makeup removers. She was so excited to share a rice dish, almond butter, Ezekiel bread, and some sweet little cupcakes she got at Costco. It was fun to taste. The multigrain rice dish was good. It was a prepackaged combination of brown rice, lentils, navy beans, wild rice, etc. I love the textures, which is important to me.
Almond butter. I will have to research that. I like peanut butter. I did like the Ezekiel bread, though. I think I could eat more sandwiches if I had bread with a lower glycemic index.
At the meeting we tasted curry tofu with mango and quinoa. George talked about managing our mental health along with our general health. It was a good night. We are going to be able to get together for a potluck in two weeks. I am really looking forward to it and am already thinking about what I want to take. I was thinking Moroccan Lentil Soup. I am also going to take Phil. :-)
I think for breakfast we had leftover waffles, eggs, and Soyrisa. Typical.
I am finding it challenging to cook 3 meals a day. I think it is easier to eat out as an excuse for varying off the diet. I need to find a system. I am thinking I can make a pot of beans that we can eat in two or three meals. I can make a pot of grain that I combine with vegetables, herbs and spices to make various meals.
Back to lunch:
I was going to make tostadas, but had no pintos cooked and available. I did, however, have some chicken in the freezer leftover from the roast I had bought last week. I took it out, thawed it, shredded it, and heated it up in a small pan with a few drops of water and a pinch of chili powder. Heated a little more Soyriso, and along with the other ingredients we had soft tacos for lunch.
I am happy eating that way, because its fast! If I had mushrooms available, I could eat mushroom tacos. I went back and added that to my grocery list. Mushroom risotto, mushroom Stroganoff, mushrooms for tacos, tostadas, pizza, the list goes on.
Dinner
I dropped by my friends home on the way to class. She is not feeling well, so I took her a few books and some Norwex makeup removers. She was so excited to share a rice dish, almond butter, Ezekiel bread, and some sweet little cupcakes she got at Costco. It was fun to taste. The multigrain rice dish was good. It was a prepackaged combination of brown rice, lentils, navy beans, wild rice, etc. I love the textures, which is important to me.
Almond butter. I will have to research that. I like peanut butter. I did like the Ezekiel bread, though. I think I could eat more sandwiches if I had bread with a lower glycemic index.
At the meeting we tasted curry tofu with mango and quinoa. George talked about managing our mental health along with our general health. It was a good night. We are going to be able to get together for a potluck in two weeks. I am really looking forward to it and am already thinking about what I want to take. I was thinking Moroccan Lentil Soup. I am also going to take Phil. :-)
Grocery List: Breakfast Ingredients
The biggest barrier to changing your diet is not having access to the necessary ingredients.
Fresh fruit
Frozen fruit
Old-fashioned rolled oats or steel cut oat, whichever you choose
Cashews, raw
almonds
walnuts
Flax seeds
Chia seed
pinto beans
garbanzo beans
kidney beans
black beans
mushrooms
veges in season
brown rice
quinoa
keep spices and herbs fresh
Fresh fruit
Frozen fruit
Old-fashioned rolled oats or steel cut oat, whichever you choose
Cashews, raw
almonds
walnuts
Flax seeds
Chia seed
pinto beans
garbanzo beans
kidney beans
black beans
mushrooms
veges in season
brown rice
quinoa
keep spices and herbs fresh
Day 24: Sunday
This morning I made waffles again. That and fruit. Good, hearty breakfast! Other than waffles with most of what we ate during the day was leftovers. I am learning to like leftovers, too, which is a big step for me.
Day 23: Saturday
I think I have caught up. I am really hoping I have been able to put my thoughts on paper for many reasons. First, I want to be able to look back, find out where we went right, if we struggled, where, and be able to catalog meals worth repeating.
Breakfast
This morning we had the same breakfast we always do, cereal and toast. It is pretty funny. We can put our breakfasts into three categories:
I am going to try vegan waffles tomorrow morning. We love the waffles, so the pancakes should be good as well. We still used butter, though. I am not a fan of margarine, so butter it is. Unless we find something really tasty to swap out butter, we will probably never stop using it.
Phil still eats eggs. Not me. I can eat scrambled tofu if necessary. And potatoes of any kind with fruit is a good breakfast for me. I just keep adding fruit to the breakfast table. Maybe some day he will dig in.
Lunch
Leftovers.:-) Who would have ever thought I would eat leftovers. They were delicious. Lentils, onions, scrambled eggs, potatoes, Soyriso, mushroom Stroganoff. Oh, and sourdough toast with butter. So close...
Dinner
Yah, we did it this time. Phil was excited to grill steaks for dinner. I think it was a real treat for him, and I must admit I enjoyed mine, too. He grilled 2 New Yorks, but we managed do eat only one. I
Breakfast
This morning we had the same breakfast we always do, cereal and toast. It is pretty funny. We can put our breakfasts into three categories:
- Cereal and toast
- hot
- cold
- Pancakes/waffles
- Eggs, potatoes, and toast
- hash browns
- country style with onions and bell pepper
I am going to try vegan waffles tomorrow morning. We love the waffles, so the pancakes should be good as well. We still used butter, though. I am not a fan of margarine, so butter it is. Unless we find something really tasty to swap out butter, we will probably never stop using it.
Phil still eats eggs. Not me. I can eat scrambled tofu if necessary. And potatoes of any kind with fruit is a good breakfast for me. I just keep adding fruit to the breakfast table. Maybe some day he will dig in.
Lunch
Leftovers.:-) Who would have ever thought I would eat leftovers. They were delicious. Lentils, onions, scrambled eggs, potatoes, Soyriso, mushroom Stroganoff. Oh, and sourdough toast with butter. So close...
Dinner
Yah, we did it this time. Phil was excited to grill steaks for dinner. I think it was a real treat for him, and I must admit I enjoyed mine, too. He grilled 2 New Yorks, but we managed do eat only one. I
Saturday, March 11, 2017
Days 21 & 22: Thursday and Friday
We struggled a bit early in the week. I knew we were going to be busy, so had talked myself into buying the rotisserie chicken while at Costco. It did come in handy, but I think we were feeling the differences in our attitudes, sleepiness, and overall well being.
Thursday.
Thursday I had to go to work again, but I had the lovely lentils and tabbouleh to take for lunch. Us Some of the staff decided to go out to lunch so I saved the lentils for dinner before going to Diabetes Undone. For lunch I had a vegetarian tostada with guacamole; a la carte. I never get the beans or rice. If I am hungry, get two tostadas. It was delicious and just the right amount for lunch.
At the meeting we tasted tabbouleh and hummus in a wheat tortilla. Funny. I was excited to watch hummus being made. I love it and could snack on it every day. It is very filling and low glycemic. It could be eaten with veges rather than bread or even in a lettuce wrap with tabbouleh. When I got home, Phil was quietly sitting watching TV. His stomach was rumbling and he eventually excused himself to return a few minutes later. He admitted he ate too many lentils and tabbouleh. But I think it was a turning point for him. He is feeling the difference of our changed eating habits.
Friday.
Finally I think we have reached the tipping point. By tipping point, I mean we have are eating little meat. I have bought no more cheese. Monday will be my last day of class. I want to try to stabilize our eating habits and look for cheese substitutes that will work for us. Phil is happy eating tuna sandwiches. I am not sure what he will eat for lunch when I am not around, but I have noticed he has chosen to come home rather than eat out in the last few days. I think I can get him to eat healthy, vegan meals if I serve meat only once a week. I feel if he can
We had good breakfast. Scrambled eggs, potatoes with onions and bells, and Soyriso. I thought Phil deserved a good breakfast. He, however, opted for scrambled eggs rather than his usual fried egg. I think in itself was revealing.I think its OK for him to eat the occasional egg. I really don't like eggs and may eventually find a replacement that is suitable for him. I think his change away from eggs will be best if he can do it himself.
For lunch we had tuna. He had sandwiches (1 1/2) on bread. I had a tuna salad, until he reminded me there was still tabbouleh in the fridge. Darn. I really need to remember to peruse the refrigerator each day.
Dinner was also delicious. Unfortunately, it was a variation of a met-based meal, but good nonetheless. I made Mushroom "Stroganoff" with egg noodles and roasted Brussels sprouts. It can easily be a 'go to' meal. I think I could use mushrooms on a weekly basis. They are meaty, full of flavor, and nutritious.
Phil was happy to eat left over waffles for breakfast. I added an orange. ;-) My breakfast included cereal with almond milk and an orange.
Darn. I am trying to recreate this 6 days later. Won't happen. The only thing I can remember is the soft tacos. No cheddar cheese, but we did sprinkle a lit of Parmesan cheese on them. I need to start finding a good cheese substitute.But then, as I read the labels of cheese substitutes, I wonder about the chemical involved in creating a "cheeses substitute". Is it really any better, or just non dairy
Days 18, 19, and 20: Yikes! It's been a week!
Where to begin... This is a real journey. I am sorry I was so occupied this week that I neglected to post. I deliberately wrote "occupied", and not "busy", because I think there is a difference. I really have to think back to recreate my week, because we had several food choices to make and I think Phil made a turn toward health, but that is for later. :-)
Monday.
Monday we took my mother-in-law to the doctor. This is always a stressful day for all of us. Today she wanted to go out to lunch afterward. She had not eaten breakfast, and I think it was because she wanted to go to Perko's. She now lives in an assisted living environment and has toast and bacon for breakfast each day. Monday morning she said she "didn't have time", but I think she was hoping to have waffles and coffee at Perko's. There is no point in talking her out of this restaurant. She is 95 and takes fewer medicines than I. She has very few things to look forward to in her life right now, so waffles it was.
I had been fearing a visit to Perko's, because I know their menu and knew eating vegan would be a real challenge. Recalling we had decided to transition to veganism, I chose the Chinese chicken salad. I could have asked them to hold the chicken, but still had a struggle leaving the chicken off the salad while spending $10 for a salad. I'll get there. Phil had a senior omelet. The most exciting part of the meal was that he was telling me about his omelet, describing the contents, and showed a willingness to change. Yippee!
Any day with mom and the doctor is a long day. We got home and I had work to do on the computer. I recall the rest of the day was snacking, finishing the dreaded bag of potato chips, and for dinner had broccoli soup for supper.
Tuesday.
Tuesday was grocery day. Breakfast is easier without milk. I think I made oatmeal. Phil also had a bagel with cream cheese. Really, the only foods I needed at the grocery store were fresh produce and almond milk. Our lunch consisted of soft tacos, which can always be healthy if you go easy on the cheese. I was going to make a lentil recipe from from Plant to Plate. Dinner was excellent. Lebanese Lentils, lentils cooked with brown rice, covered with caramelized onions. I also made Tabbouleh. What a healthy, tasty meal! Phil enjoyed it and we both noticed we weren't needing dessert after dinner. Very cool.
Wednesday.
Wednesday I worked and had a chicken Caesar salad that I bought at work. They never have good vegan options for lunch at the school cafe; usually wraps and sandwiches. Wraps and sandwiches are not my favorites. I was going to eat around the chicken, because it is always dry, but of course today I was starving. Thankfully the chicken was pretty good.
Dinner.
I wanted to eat the Costco chicken and get rid of it, so we had chicken, roasted red potatoes and veges for dinner. Again, Phi really noticed how much greasier the dinner dishes were. :-)
Day 17: Sunday
Phil was happy to eat left over waffles for breakfast. I added an orange. ;-) My breakfast included cereal with almond milk and an orange.
Darn. I am trying to recreate this 6 days later. Won't happen. The only thing I can remember is the soft tacos. No cheddar cheese, but we did sprinkle a lit of Parmesan cheese on them. I need to start finding a good cheese substitute.But then, as I read the labels of cheese substitutes, I wonder about the chemical involved in creating a "cheeses substitute". Is it really any better, or just non dairy?
Day 16: Saturday and its Waffles
Yum! Yum! I could not wait to make waffles. The second day of class we had tasted the Cashew-Date waffles. I was finally able to locate raw cashews, so this morning made the waffles. Phil repeated several times how good they were. A green light breakfast, but next time I need to have more fruit or at least a small smoothy to prevent us from eating too many waffles.
Lunch: Phil had a ham sandwich. He finished the ham lunch meat. Yippee. I am going to leave his lunch alone, but will only be purchasing real meat, rather than processed meat (ham, bologna, salami). He is just going to have to learn to like sliced turkey. Also, because of the hearty breakfast, he only had one sandwich. :-) The same hearty breakfast kept me from being hungry to eat lunch. So...I ate potato chips. :-(
Unfortunately, we fell off the wagon. I purchased a bag of potato chips while shopping hungry at Costco; always a bad, bad move.
Life being what it is, its hard to manage time during the day and add cooking vegan meals into an already full routine. Preparing healthy, tasty meals is time consuming; so different from tossing a frozen pizza in the oven and tossing a salad. Grains and beans have to be cooked. Vegetables and fruits have to be in the fridge, house, or garden. It is challenging. I had a busy afternoon, visiting my mother-in-law, Emily, working on OHAS stuff, and stopping to make some cookies for Emily and Phil. After a week that caught me driving into town every day and working hard on non profit and financial stuff while at home, I gave in to the smells and bought a rotisserie chicken. I know it is nowhere close to the vegan end I aim for, but it is on the yellow food list and I chose to make the rest of the meal vegan. Roasted red potatoes and broccoli.
I see it now, the go to meal. Salad with nuts and beans, roasted red potatoes and roasted vegetables. The roasting recipe I found in from Plant to Plate, was one we tasted a in class as a breakfast dish. Keep that in mind. You can make a large batch, have some for supper, and reheat the rest for breakfast paired with scrambled tofu, Soyriso, or even eggs.
I did make cookies today, first sweet snack we have had in days. Vanishing Oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips and walnuts. To justify, we all need a little sweet diversion every once in a while. Long ago, I realized it was better to make our sweet treats in order to better control what is in them. I generally make my cookies with half whole wheat flour, cut butter in half and exchange canola oil, and cut sugar by 1/2 to 3/4. I like to make oatmeal cookies as they add lots of relatively low glycemic rolled oats. I also add walnuts, a healthy nut.
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