Veggie Time

We tend to get a little slack sometimes in eating large amounts of veggies. It's always easy to just have a bowl of oatmeal or fruit and cereal - and then there is the ever-present loaf of homemade bread! I've been craving some soup for a few days and since it was less than 80 degrees today, this was the day. It was loaded with onions, some potatoes, carrots, corn, green beans, peas, and whole wheat pasta. I added lots of herbs and spices - sea salt and pepper of course - but rosemary, parsley, garlic, and bay leaves too. And then notice the cornbread on the side! It was sooo good. We had it for lunch and for supper too. There's just a little left for lunch tomorrow.

Happy Anniversary - Two years

Wow! I can't believe it's been 2 years - on one hand it seems like just a flash - and on the other, it seems as if we've been together all our lives. It's been a wonderful 2 years - we've traveled some, eaten alot, gained a bunch of weight, changed our diet, lost a bunch of weight, and generally had a wonderful time together. Happy Anniversary honey. I sure do love you!

Naked Burritos

OK. I admit it. I stole the name from Qdoba. We ate at Qdoba in Chattanooga last weekend with Brad and Chrissy and Anna. It's great to be able to eat out and not stray too far from our diet (I suspect the veggies may have had just a little oil - not positive). We enjoyed our naked burritos so much that I made them at home tonight.

Here's what I did: Cooked some brown rice and added some cilantro and a little lime juice when it was done. Served it on the plate. Then spooned over a generous serving of black beans, whole kernel corn and salsa (rinsed the beans, added the rest and heated it up on the stove), then spooned over a serving of sauteed onions, peppers and tomatoes. I did these in a non-stick skillet and added a little cumin, sea salt, and garlic powder. We topped it off with our one vice - a serving of homemade guacamole. It was as good at home as it was at Qdoba! This one is definitely a keeper. My mouth has such a happy taste :)

Baba Ganoush

So this was something new for me - also a new find from our Seattle trip. We ate at Jack and Pam's favorite Persian restaurant one day. They all got a big plate of basmati rice and veggies but I got baba ganoush - roasted eggplant with plenty of roasted garlic and spices. Kroger had some nice eggplants this weekend so I thought I'd give it a try. The recipe is posted here. It was really easy and tasty. It reminds me of hummus but it's not quite as heavy as hummus. I think it will be really good on a veggie sandwich loaded up with all the usuals - peppers, onions, tomatoes, etc.

Homemade Buns = Great Sandwiches

When we were in Seattle, Jack gave me a recipe for hamburger or sandwich rolls. We made it once there for Boca Burgers (Original Vegan - no added fats!) and they were really good. I made a batch this weekend and used one today to make a yummy veggie sandwich. I used Walden Farms Honey Dijon dressing instead of mayo and then added green pepper, tomatoes, thinly sliced onion, mushrooms and spinach. It was really good. You can shape them any way you want to so these were kind of sub-shaped. Last time I made them round for burgers. These are a keeper. The recipe is posted here on the family recipe page.

Quick Update

45 pounds gone today! Finally. . . but how can I saw "finally" when I ate over a dozen cookies yesterday! What a great eating plan when you can do that and still see your weight decrease. I still am NOT working out - though John goes to the DAC every day. Maybe in another 20 pounds. I tend to pack on lots of muscle - and though I lose lots of inches - I don't lose weight at ALL. I'm going to wait til I'm closer to where I want to be.

It's been 7 1/2 months now. I don't miss meat at all and we use meat substitutes only occasionally. Our favorite foods (in no particular order) are scrambled tofu, potato soup, homemade breads, John's famous craving cookies, and the tamale casserole. We haven't done homemade pizza or calzones in over a month I guess - and I'm about ready for that again. It's just amazing how your taste changes and how good veggies and fruits are and that we don't need alot of seasoning. Pretty amazing ride.

Now I'm gunning for 50 pounds. Slowly but surely. :)