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2007-07-28T21:12:00.000-07:00

Alright folks (for the 1 person that reads this blog :) )....

Sorry I have not posted in a while. I am still doing the no-meat thing and am moving closer to Veganism. This is due to the wonderfully sad movie Earthings. I will not go into the details but I strongly advocate watching the film....simply the most powerful movie I have ever seen.

Anyway, tonight was a monumental occasion. This is because I had my first, deliberate vegan meal. Now I know what you might be thinking, "why is that a big deal--everytime you have a salad it is potentially a vegan meal?" This is different....this was what I consider a "regular" meal consisting of fajitas and ice cream for dessert (it was a soy ice cream...forget the brand....I will post that later).

The fajitas consisted of sauted onions, red yellow and orange peppers, light life smart beef strips, Tbl chile powder, teaspoon cumin, half teaspoon each of salt, oregano, pepper flakes and a dash of black pepper. For the "cheese" in the fajitas I used recipe for Crock Cheese (written originally by Jo Stepaniak for the book, The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook )that I spread on warmed flour tortillas and layered on top of it the "beef" filling and salsa.

Needless to say, my cruelty-free meal was tasty!

2006-11-26T06:46:00.000-08:00

Saturday 11/25

breakfast:
veggie Pizza Hut pizza (leftovers)

lunch:
veggie wrap in Ruidoso NM (it was really good -- spinach wrap with spouts, Zucchini, hummus, lettuce, onions, and avacodo)

dinner:
TGI Fridays frozen Spinach & Alfredo Dip with chips

Friday 11/24
Breakfast:
lemon Cliff Bar

lunch:
Subway Veggie Delight

dinner:
veggie Pizza Hut pizza

Thursday 11/23:
Breakfast:
frosted shredded wheat with soy

Lunch:
white cheese popcorn, Doritos ranch chips, tweakie (we were on a road-trip)

Dinner:
Tomato & Basil Soup, trail mix

Wednesday 11/22:
Breakfast:
bran flakes with soy

Lunch:
pb&j

Dinner:
Pizza Hut cheese pizza

2006-11-21T21:21:00.000-08:00

Tuesday 11/21

Breakfast:
Bran flakes and Soy

Lunch:
PB&J

Dinner:
Feta & Spinach Calzone

Monday 11/20

Breakfast:
Bran flakes and Soy

Lunch:
PB&J

Dinner:
Pad Thai

Sunday 11/19

Breakfast:
Donuts

Dinner:
White Lasagna (Ricotta Cheese and Spinach with noodles in layers)

Saturday 11/18:

Lunch:

Flatbread cheese pizza

Dinner:
No Roof Noodles From Chow's Asian Bistro

Friday 11/17:

Breakfast:
Bran Flakes w/w soy

Lunch:
PB&J

Dinner:
Flatbread Cheese Pizza

Thursday 11/16:
Breakfast:
Bran Flakes w/w soy

Lunch:
PB&J

Dinner:
Grilled Cheese and Onion Rings from Quarter's Restaurant

Wednesday 11/15
Breakfast:
Bran Flakes w/w soy

Lunch:
PB&J

Dinner:
Bean Burritos

Tuesday 11/14
Breakfast:
Bran Flakes w/w soy

Lunch:
PB&J

Dinner:
Cheese and Crackers

Monday 11/13
Breakfast:
Bran Flakes w/w soy

Lunch:
PB&J

Dinner:
Szechuan Tofu burger from La Montanita Coop

2006-11-12T17:22:00.000-08:00

Sunday 11/12
breakfast
Oatmeal

lunch
A Californian Sandwich (Portabella Mushrooms and Swiss Cheese--pretty good...I am usually wary of mushroom sandwich because of the potent taste...but this sandwich was surprisingly mellow) from Flying Star Cafe

dinner
Cheese Tamales from La Montanita Coop

Saturday 11/11
breakfast
bran w/ soymilk

lunch
Tortilla Chips with Refried Beans and Cheese

dinner
Garden Burger Wraps

Friday 11/10
breakfast
bran w/ soymilk

lunch
pb&j

dinner
Leftover soft-tacos (yup...the recipe makes a lot of leftovers!)

Thursday 11/9
breakfast
bran w/ soymilk

lunch
pb&j

dinner
Leftover soft-tacos

Wednesday 11/8
breakfast
bran w/ soymilk

lunch
pb&j

dinner
Whole Foods Vegetable Potstickers

Tuesday 11/7
breakfast
bran w/ soymilk

lunch
pb&j

dinner
Whole Foods Vegetable Potstickers (like fried spring rolls)

2006-11-07T05:44:00.000-08:00

Monday 11/6
breakfast
bran w/ soymilk

lunch
pb&j

dinner
vegetarian spring rolls

Sunday 11/5

breakfast
bran w/ soymilk

lunch
hummus and pita

dinner
leftover soy tacos

Saturday:

breakfast
bran w/ soymilk

lunch
hummus and pita

dinner
soy tacos --will post recipe later (you will be able to fool the biggest carnivore with this recipe)

2006-11-03T17:21:00.000-08:00

Thurs 11/2

Breakfast:
Bran and Soy Milk

Lunch:
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

Dinner:
Trader Joe's Mediterranean Hummus (OMG! its freakin' awesome) with Pita

Wed. 11/1

Breakfast:
Bran and Soy Milk (I have been using the cheap Great Value stuff from Wal Mart...not bad I will probably stick with it for cereal...with the bran, I can hardly tell that it isn't "real" milk.)

Lunch:
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

Dinner:
Leftover Whole foods meal (Acorn Squash)

2006-11-01T05:43:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, 10/31/06

Breakfast:
Bran flakes and soy milk

Lunch:
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

Dinner:
Audrey (my wife) brought home two Whole Foods prepared Entrées: a Mushroom Leek Strudel and Spinach Stuffed Acorn Squash. I would recommend both--I liked the Acorn Squash better for two reasons: first, the Mushroom Leek Strudel can be a little overwhelming at times, and the the Acorn Squash is about half the price per serving (Mushroom Strudel = $6.69, Acorn Squash = $3.74). The really cool thing about Whole Foods is that these are not frozen meals...they are made that day and taste like exotic-home cooked meals....now I just have to figure out how to make them myself.

2006-10-31T05:52:00.000-08:00

Monday 10/30

Breakfast:
Bran Flakes with Soy Milk

Lunch:
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

Dinner:
Leftover French Onion Soup

2006-10-31T05:43:00.000-08:00

Meals - Sunday 10/29
Breakfast:
Vegan Pancakes:

1 cup of flour
2 Tbls of vegetable oil
1 cup of soy milk
pinch of salt
EnerG Egg replacer (for one egg)
3 Tbls of Sugar

Lunch:
Trader Joe's Mediterranean Hummus with Pita

Dinner:
French Onion Soup:

Saute some onions in butter in sauce pan
pour in some Pacific Natural Foods French onion soup (normally I make my own--but that was with beef broth--so this will do for now until I adjust my recipe)
Add pinch of pepper
Toast a piece of bread for each bowl
place toasted bread in bowl,
pour soup over top,
lay slices of Mozzarella on top
sprinkle Parmesan cheese over that
Broil in over until cheese begins to brown.

2006-10-31T05:41:00.000-08:00

Meals - Saturday 10/28

No breakfast

Lunch:
Veggie sandwich from Smith's Grocery (pretty good)--lettuce, cucumber, some cheese (not sure what kind), onions...Not sure what else...the sandwich was actually my wife's--I just stole it when she was gone at work--just as any perfect husband would do!

Dinner:
Pasta with Asiago cheese, toasted garlic and ricotta (left over ingredients from the flat bread pizza)

2006-10-27T18:40:00.000-07:00

Meals for Fri. 10 /27:

Breakfast:
Granola with Soy Milk

Lunch:
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

Dinner:
Red Barron 4 cheese pizza (the non-rising kind)
--And yes, I am a total cheese & pizza freak

2006-10-27T18:39:00.000-07:00

Meals for Thurs. 10 /26:

Breakfast:
Granola with Soy Milk

Lunch:
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

Dinner:
All right folks--are you ready for this:

Oreos with rice milk and a slice of cherry pie.

Freakin' Sweet dinner!

2006-10-27T18:34:00.000-07:00

Meals for Wed. 10 /25:

Breakfast:
Granola with Soy Milk

Lunch:
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

Dinner:
Flatbread pizza (like I had on Sunday 10/22)

2006-10-24T21:31:00.000-07:00

Meals - Tuesday, 10/24/06

breakfast:
granola with the last of my regular milk

lunch:
peanut butter and jelly

dinner:
spaghetti noodles with oil and basil covered with Asiago cheese and some Whole Foods pre-made grilled Tofu

2006-10-23T18:54:00.000-07:00

In the interests of total transparency

I am going to caution you….my meal for Monday (tonight)…has meat in it. No, I am not being hypocritical or backing down on our deal…

The deal is this…I have leftover enchilada casserole which I made last week…if you will notice my first post about The Deal was last week…it has taken me this long to eat it. The main reason for going vegetarian is to waste less (less life, resources, etc.) and I will not waste the meat in the enchilada that I made or destroy my bed (it is made of leather) etc.. Now of course one may ask if I am at a social event whether I would eat the meat so that it doesn't go to waste...the answer is a clear and resounding NO! I will not eat the meat. This meat that I prepared was pre-vegetarian--anything further down the road I feel that I have earned the right to decline to eat the meat...

I hope you will understand….

Breakfast:
Bran flakes cereal and milk (leftover--I already have Rice Dream ready in the fridge)

Lunch:
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

Dinner (for the record--the last meal I eat that I knowingly have meat):
Enchilada Casserole (great easy recipe--I will adapt it to be vegetarian and post when I make it)

2006-10-23T17:02:00.000-07:00

Ha Ha Lee....nice title!

Anyways...my meal list for Sunday, 10/23/06:

Took the in-laws out to breakfast at the Flying Star..a hip little joint in Albuquerque (where I live--do I really need to state the state or is there only one Albuquerque) that features a ton of good bakery items, an awesome veggie burger (not some prefab-frozen Morningstar/Boca burger crap), and a good Chai Tea.

I was feeling bold this morning so I had their Vegacado. I don't see it listed on their permanent menu so it must be a local dish. It is Mexican breakfast--rice, beans, a ton of cheese, tofu (scrambled egg replacer), and of course--red and green chili.

I skipped lunch (its not often that I do that but it happens).

For dinner, we didn't have anything planned so I messed around with the ingredients we had and came up with a little flat-bread pizza:

Sauté some onions in butter until completely wilted and beginning to brown,
After which take a brush and use the butter from the pan to glaze over the tops of some flat-bread rounds
In a medium bowl take about a cup of ricotta cheese, mix in some de-thawed spinach that has been heavily squeezed (to remove water), mix in about 3 tablespoons of Parmesian cheese (the cheap, powered stuff works), some salt, a little pepper, some Gruyere cheese (a cup will suffice).
Spread the mixture over the flat bread (I used about 4 flat-bread rounds)
spread around a cup of fresh, chopped basil over the four rounds
Add some shredded cheddar and/or asiago cheese
Top with sautéed onions
Cook in oven until heated thoroughly

I must admit--it was mighty fine fixin's for just messing around. Someday I think I will try to top the whole thing off with some tofu smothered in bbq sauce.

2006-10-15T08:24:00.000-07:00

Hello,

This blog is simply for the purpose of tracking the meals I eat as I go Vegetarian. My first pledge is to exclude beef, poultry, pork and fish (in other words--no flesh from animals of any kind) from my diet. I will also replace drinking milk and cereal milk with soy. At this point, I will still use eggs in baking/cooking and will also use milk in baking/cooking . I will also continue to consume cheese (which will be the hardest food to give up).

Hopefully, this blog will give others recipe ideas as well as reinforce my deal I made with my friend, Lee (I go Vegetarian -- he commutes to work on a bike, which I already do). As Lee so eloquently puts it (sorry if I misquote you Lee, this was something you said a year ago) , "going Vegetarian is not about making sacrifices, it merely is the re-education of the palate." Well, if this is so, then I will begin my food education like I did when growing up. When I was a child, I was not responsible for cooking--my mother, as most in the United States, cooked meals for me. As I grew older I decided what I liked and disliked, and when leaving the nest, I incorporated the preferred meals into my diet and made them myself.

What this means is that I will not do a lot of cooking to start (I love to cook however...so this will change) and will get a lot of my meals from Whole Foods, frozen meals, and eating out. However this is an unacceptable way to live in the long run, so as I find dishes that I like I will learn how to make them (and post them here--of course). The end result is to make Vegetarian/Vegan meals that are fast and cheap.

-Matt