Veggie "Fries" w/Steamed Kale and Broccoli

I was browsing blogs today and found a good recipe for "Veggie Fries" here on the VeganMindedBlog site.  Looked so good, I had to try it. I also used zucchini and yellow squash.  I used only a very small amount of unsweetened almond milk and Vegenaise.  Had whole wheat breadcrumbs, which I flavored with Italian Seasonings, garlic, creole seasoning, salt, and pepper.  Was pretty good!  I served it with some steamed kale and broccoli.  Had some leftover Asian Ginger sauce from a recent Monk Bowl.

I'm not sure the 2 went together....the Italian seasoning, with the Asian.  Oh well....had to use up the sauce.  I was going to make a millet dish (I was so excited that I bought millet today!), but decided I'll do that maybe tomorrow.  I've never made millet, but I noticed so many vegan blogs use it.

I also ordered nutritional yeast!  A lot of vegans use that, and seems to add some "cheese-like" flavor to foods, so I'm excited to start using that too.  And it's an excellent source of Vitamin B-12!  Since I'm really cutting  down on my dairy consumption, I thought I could use some.  Speaking of that, the McDougall program seems to be doing the job.  If I stick with  non-oil and non-dairy foods, my weight really does go down!  Yay for rice and potatoes! :) .....and now for millet!  (although I do have quinoa, which I love too)

Tomorrow, I may go to TWO markets.  Yes, 2. We'll see how the day goes and how many vegetables I can handle.  Wish me luck!

I finally have a few days off, so I can do a little blogging.  Exciting, no?

So that's all for now....off to see a chamber music concert in a bit (Musaica).
Eat smart,
T.

The Mayan Bowl

Tonight's dinner: McDougall's Mayan Bowl with Enchilada Sauce.  You can find the recipe here.  This is my second bowl recipe.  Last time I made a Monk Bowl with the Asian-Ginger Sauce.  I think I prefer the Monk Bowl and Asian Sauce, but this one was pretty good.  I must say it did need quite a bit of added salt.  Other than that, thumbs up!

I made it with a mix of red, brown, and white (because it was local from the csa) rice.  The vegetables: broccoli, carrots, mustard greens(not sure those worked great, but they were also in the csa box), and corn.  I added some black beans on top.  Do you think I overloaded the steam basket???  :)

And for a snack while watching TV, I made myself a nice sprout and slaw salad: sprouts, broccoli slaw, coleslaw, cucumber and celery.  Who knew you could have a great dressing without oil??  I know now!  Just squeezed some lemon juice on there with a little garlic powder and salt.  Was absolutely delicious!

Well I think that's about it for today.  By the way, saw Michael Moore's new movie Capitalism.  Great movie.  I highly recommend it!


Eat smart,
T.

Catching up over the weekend

Sorry I haven't been able to post.  Haven't felt up to it.  Couldn't sleep last night either...waking up every 45 minutes coughing.  I think I feel a little better today.  We'll see when nighttime rolls around.  That seems to be when it's at its worst.

Ok, on to the food then.  On Saturday night, I made my Potato Salad Oregano, but added raw fresh white turnips I'd gotten at the farmer's market.  I just cubed about 4 medium to large white turnips and put them in.  I don't think my husband was really into it. (I guess that's why there's so much left...more for me!)  It grew on me.  It was different.  I thought about cooking the turnips first, but decided I wanted the extra crunch instead.  I might consider cooking the turnips next time, but I liked it this way.  You can try whatever you want....let me know if you cook yours first.

Next: the Monk Bowl.  I'm really excited about this.  I found the idea on the Hungry Vegan's Blog.  She wrote an interesting article on Dr. McDougall.  So interesting, I went out and bought one of his program books and a cookbook of his.  She mentions this Monk Bowl, which you can find here.  There are a ton of different variations.  I decided to make one last night.  I made the Monk Bowl with the Asian-Ginger Sauce.  I used a mix of red and brown rice and steamed: green beans, carrots, broccoli, golden zucchini & yellow squash.  Different vegetables steam at different times, so add accordingly. Also added the lima beans I had just cooked that morning (I just put them on top of the other vegetables in the pot for the last couple of minutes of cooking).  I left out the tofu.  I have to say, it was SO good!!  I'm excited to try all the other variations too.

It was so good, we're having it again tonight (leftover rice and sauce).  I just have to steam up some vegetables.  I just started reading his book, and there are some things I don't agree with (there's always going to be something), but that's ok.  I like a lot of his ideas.  Basically, he tries to avoid all added fats (well, there's going to be some fat in your food, which is ok), meaning no oil!  That's probably the hardest thing to avoid, if you cook a lot.  He also doesn't like nuts....not sure why, except that they are high in fat.  But I'm sticking with my almond milk (especially since I just bought a case of it online!).  He uses rice and soy milk.  All of his recipes are vegan.  I still like my cheese once in a while and some yogurt too.  He concentrates on complex carbohydrates (seems to be the opposite of the Atkins diet).  Anyway, we'll see how it goes.

Now I have to go make dinner....easy, just have to steam the veggies (my husband hates that word).  VEGGIES!  hehehe.......

Back to work tomorrow.  Hopefully I'll be able to post something in the next few days.
Eat smart,
T.