Well when it was time for solid food again at lunch on Friday, we went to Fresh Mint. It is a vegetarian/vegan restaurant with a Vietnamese flare. It started in Maui in the same town as Mama's Fish House and is still there and in Scottsdale. http://www.freshmint.us.com/ It was spectacular. For dinner we had penne with meatlessballs and grilled veggies. Saturday we remained Vegan until we hit a snack on the road at Sprinkles, the cupcake place. Unfortunately, it was not the BEST cupcake I ever ate and was actually dry. So our real break the vegan was at dinner at Coupe des Tartes (http://nicetartes.com/). We had a Group On. It was very good especially as I ate my brie and Jillian had her pate terrain. Then we moved on to salmon for Jillian and I had a pork tenderloin. Dessert was cheese for Jillian and I had a Smore Tarte. The truth is the meal was good but not spectacular, I much prefer POSH (http://www.poshscottsdale.com/), and am looking forward to going back there.
This experience has been a good one. I have learned there is much we can eat that is not animal based and am willing to continue to eat like this on occasion to add variety into the diet. However, I still love meat and cheese and am not giving it up.
I hope you have enjoyed my little trip down Vegan lane as this is my last entry.
Veg Out!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Day 6 - Easy Vegan
It's easy being a Vegan if one can only have liquids. Veggie broth, water, frozen powerade popsiciles, and Gatorade. Jillian has leftovers of Indian food and falafel. Sorry not much more to say today. Tomorrow we will focus on lunch out and then dinner. Then we eat meat...
Veg Out!
Veg Out!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Day 5 - The Lunch Challenge and Dinner
So the rest of the AM was as usual...type, type , type, stop eat some breakfast bar and some fruit...type, type , type. Then it was time for lunch. I was meeting a colleague at CPK, what am I going to eat? I can't have cheese, will be tempted. NOPE! I had some tortilla soup and this great grilled veggie salad, no peppers and sans dressing. http://cpk.com/menu/salads/. I highly recommend it. It has art hearts, asparagus, eggpplant, and then avocado. No dressing was needed. Phew!
But since I survived not eating CPK's pizza we made our own for dinner. We had whole wheat dough from TJ's and then I grilled some veggies while Jillian made the Mockzzarella. Yep, make your own "cheese." Actually, NOPE! It was not cheese. It was yeast dissolved in water with thickener. We added some cayenne to spice it up. It really looked more like Nacho Cheese consistency. Yet we had our grilled pizza and we are still alive. Which is more than I can say for the leftover "cheese." If you want to give it a try you can find everything you need at Whole Foods and just follow the recipe. http://www.ivu.org/recipes/italian/mozzarella-j.html
So tomorrow starts my liquid diet until mid-Friday, so I probably will not have much to say about the Veggie Broth I am having and the Gatorade and ice pops. So you may not hear from me until after lunch on Friday, when we brave going out again. I am looking forward to Friday's dinner, the last of the Vegan meals...Penne Arrabiatta with Meatlessballs.
Veg Out!
But since I survived not eating CPK's pizza we made our own for dinner. We had whole wheat dough from TJ's and then I grilled some veggies while Jillian made the Mockzzarella. Yep, make your own "cheese." Actually, NOPE! It was not cheese. It was yeast dissolved in water with thickener. We added some cayenne to spice it up. It really looked more like Nacho Cheese consistency. Yet we had our grilled pizza and we are still alive. Which is more than I can say for the leftover "cheese." If you want to give it a try you can find everything you need at Whole Foods and just follow the recipe. http://www.ivu.org/recipes/italian/mozzarella-j.html
So tomorrow starts my liquid diet until mid-Friday, so I probably will not have much to say about the Veggie Broth I am having and the Gatorade and ice pops. So you may not hear from me until after lunch on Friday, when we brave going out again. I am looking forward to Friday's dinner, the last of the Vegan meals...Penne Arrabiatta with Meatlessballs.
Veg Out!
Day 4 - Rest of the Day and Day 5 Breakfast
The rest of the day was uneventful. Lunch was leftover soup from the night before and a nectarine. Had a pretzel snack, and then for dinner we had a sweet potato, lentil, and veggie bake with a slight Indian touch to it. It was not good. So much so I am not going to post the recipe. This brought us to a discussion about Wednesday's dinner which I was not looking forward to. We decided on grilled pizza with veggies. We will be making some type of "cheese" sauce which I will report on later.
For breakfast today I had half a baked potato left over from the potato scones topped with the Indian leftovers from Sunday. That was delicious. I followed it up with some watermelon and V-8.
Looking forward to a lunch challenge today, as I am eating out at CPK. They have a salad that looked good so I am keeping my fingers crossed.
Veg Out!
For breakfast today I had half a baked potato left over from the potato scones topped with the Indian leftovers from Sunday. That was delicious. I followed it up with some watermelon and V-8.
Looking forward to a lunch challenge today, as I am eating out at CPK. They have a salad that looked good so I am keeping my fingers crossed.
Veg Out!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Day 4 - Breakfast
Almost halfway through and breakfast was not the same without Jillian. She took yesterday off, so we had breakfast together three days in a row, and today I went through withdrawal. ;0(
I woke up and finished my yummy breakfast bar from yesterday. I just wonder how long they last, so we can make them and have them instead of granola bars. They are so good. See the recipe from Day 2. After doing some writing for my paper due on Friday (plan is to finish by Thursday AM), I warmed up some Quinoa, added a touch of agave nectar and soy milk, a dash of salt, and half a banana. It was cereal. I enjoyed it, and did not miss the FACON.
More Later.
Veg Out!
I woke up and finished my yummy breakfast bar from yesterday. I just wonder how long they last, so we can make them and have them instead of granola bars. They are so good. See the recipe from Day 2. After doing some writing for my paper due on Friday (plan is to finish by Thursday AM), I warmed up some Quinoa, added a touch of agave nectar and soy milk, a dash of salt, and half a banana. It was cereal. I enjoyed it, and did not miss the FACON.
More Later.
Veg Out!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Day 3 - This is easy?
So, here we are with just about an hour left of day 3, and this is not hard. I do not feel hungry, there is plenty of food to eat, and as much as I love meat I am not missing it or craving it.
Breakfast started off with a tofu scramble and a potato scone, with some more Facon and fruit compote. The potato scone reminded me of a knish, except it was REALLY dry. It smothered it in fruit compote.
Lunch was a Chickpea, Art Heart and Tomato Salad with Romaine. We substituted romaine for arugula because that is what we had in the house. http://www.vegetariantimes.com/lunchchallenge/day4/
For snack in the afternoon I had a white peach, some pretzels and part of a breakfast bar. Those are just plan yummy!
Dinner was Spicy Asian Dumpling Soup. It was delicious. Lots of veggies, some wheat noodles and veggie pot stickers we bought at TJ's. I recommend this any day of the week. http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/352
That is it for today. It is late and I have a long day of writing my final paper for my current class.
Veg Out!
Breakfast started off with a tofu scramble and a potato scone, with some more Facon and fruit compote. The potato scone reminded me of a knish, except it was REALLY dry. It smothered it in fruit compote.
Lunch was a Chickpea, Art Heart and Tomato Salad with Romaine. We substituted romaine for arugula because that is what we had in the house. http://www.vegetariantimes.com/lunchchallenge/day4/
For snack in the afternoon I had a white peach, some pretzels and part of a breakfast bar. Those are just plan yummy!
Dinner was Spicy Asian Dumpling Soup. It was delicious. Lots of veggies, some wheat noodles and veggie pot stickers we bought at TJ's. I recommend this any day of the week. http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/352
That is it for today. It is late and I have a long day of writing my final paper for my current class.
Veg Out!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Day 2 - Food
So here it is Sunday afternoon and two meals down, and still alive, and not craving meat. I miss cheese more than meat, but probably because I am so used to eating cheese sticks.
Breakfast Jillian made some yummy wheat flour pancakes. They were a little heavy so I am wondering if the batter needed to be whisked. However on top we had fruit compote, and on the side FACON. Yes, we tried it again. This time it was better since we were able to chew it. It reminded me of something from a long time ago, which we laughed about last night, Sizzlean, but without the processed meat. For those of you who do not remember or even know what it is here is a link...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KERQgZJcE2M.
Lunch was a Spicy Banh Mi sandwich. This is Vietnamese Street Food. This was actually my first exposure to it. We put marinated and baked tofu on it, with cucumber, tomato, cilantro, lettuce, and a carrot and Daikon radish quick slaw. There was a sauce of tamari (or a sweet soy sauce) and spicy garlic paste. This was all piled high on a toasted piece of baguette. YUM! I could see putting turkey on it, but this was very satisfying. In honor of Oprah we had chips with it, because she said she ate chips because they were Vegan. Here is a link to the recipe. (We left off the mayo). http://www.vegetariantimes.com/lunchchallenge/day3/
Dinner is already in the making and I know will be delicious. I made a Moroccan Carrot Salad, which is now chilling in the fridge and then I am going to make up some Falafel to have on pita with eggplant hummus from Trader Joe's. We will bake the falafel for a healthier version. Ah, falafel, bringing back the good old days of college, when the fraternity would invite our parents for a weekend, and then put them to work at the Jewish Festival in Santa Barbara selling falafel as a fundraiser. But it was good falafel, and the more money we made the less we needed to ask for from them. For dessert we will have a no bake cookie made out of rolled oats. Follow the link and "bake" them up...http://www.ivu.org/recipes/snacks/chocolate-oatmeal.html.
Moroccan Carrot Salad from the Ultimate Book of Vegan Cooking p. 140
3-4 organic carrots thinly sliced (Using organic carrots is better because carrots suck everything out of the ground so they are sometimes used as a ground cleanser, so eating pesticide ala carrot is not fun).
1 tsp agave nectar
1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar or a fruit vinegar like raspberry
2 garlic cloves chopped
1/4 heaping teaspoon of cumin (to taste)
1/4 teaspoon of paprika (my addition)
juice of 1/2 lemon
2-3 tablespoons of EVOO
2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste
Slice the carrots using a mandeline (they will look like soap chips ala Woody Woodpecker http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGHlBTI0iMo). Place them in a steamer and cook until just tender. Cool slightly and place in a bowl.
Combine the agave and vinegar, and then add the garlic, salt and pepper, paprika, and lemon juice. While whisking constantly slowly stream in the EVOO. Poor the dressing over the carrots and stir.
Chop the cilantro and parsley and mix into the carrots and dressing.
You can let it sit or eat immediately.
We will have our Mediterranean meal this evening watching Black Swan. I hope there is no cruelty to animals since it is Vegan Week.
Veg Out!
Breakfast Jillian made some yummy wheat flour pancakes. They were a little heavy so I am wondering if the batter needed to be whisked. However on top we had fruit compote, and on the side FACON. Yes, we tried it again. This time it was better since we were able to chew it. It reminded me of something from a long time ago, which we laughed about last night, Sizzlean, but without the processed meat. For those of you who do not remember or even know what it is here is a link...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KERQgZJcE2M.
Lunch was a Spicy Banh Mi sandwich. This is Vietnamese Street Food. This was actually my first exposure to it. We put marinated and baked tofu on it, with cucumber, tomato, cilantro, lettuce, and a carrot and Daikon radish quick slaw. There was a sauce of tamari (or a sweet soy sauce) and spicy garlic paste. This was all piled high on a toasted piece of baguette. YUM! I could see putting turkey on it, but this was very satisfying. In honor of Oprah we had chips with it, because she said she ate chips because they were Vegan. Here is a link to the recipe. (We left off the mayo). http://www.vegetariantimes.com/lunchchallenge/day3/
Dinner is already in the making and I know will be delicious. I made a Moroccan Carrot Salad, which is now chilling in the fridge and then I am going to make up some Falafel to have on pita with eggplant hummus from Trader Joe's. We will bake the falafel for a healthier version. Ah, falafel, bringing back the good old days of college, when the fraternity would invite our parents for a weekend, and then put them to work at the Jewish Festival in Santa Barbara selling falafel as a fundraiser. But it was good falafel, and the more money we made the less we needed to ask for from them. For dessert we will have a no bake cookie made out of rolled oats. Follow the link and "bake" them up...http://www.ivu.org/recipes/snacks/chocolate-oatmeal.html.
Moroccan Carrot Salad from the Ultimate Book of Vegan Cooking p. 140
3-4 organic carrots thinly sliced (Using organic carrots is better because carrots suck everything out of the ground so they are sometimes used as a ground cleanser, so eating pesticide ala carrot is not fun).
1 tsp agave nectar
1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar or a fruit vinegar like raspberry
2 garlic cloves chopped
1/4 heaping teaspoon of cumin (to taste)
1/4 teaspoon of paprika (my addition)
juice of 1/2 lemon
2-3 tablespoons of EVOO
2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste
Slice the carrots using a mandeline (they will look like soap chips ala Woody Woodpecker http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGHlBTI0iMo). Place them in a steamer and cook until just tender. Cool slightly and place in a bowl.
Combine the agave and vinegar, and then add the garlic, salt and pepper, paprika, and lemon juice. While whisking constantly slowly stream in the EVOO. Poor the dressing over the carrots and stir.
Chop the cilantro and parsley and mix into the carrots and dressing.
You can let it sit or eat immediately.
We will have our Mediterranean meal this evening watching Black Swan. I hope there is no cruelty to animals since it is Vegan Week.
Veg Out!
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