Days 17 - 19 The Home Stretch!

(pictured: Seiten Stew)

So my weekly menu got slight revisions this week. Thursday was Day 17. I cooked a recipe from Cooking Light Mag "Pecan Crusted Trout" I think I used catfish. Rave reviews from the fam. I was going to try Pecan Crusted Tofu but I did not marinate the tofu ahead of time so I opted for leftover Veg Loaf (much better reheated) with fries and broccoli.

Day 18 Friday...I did not have pizza. Ate up some leftovers in the fridge and went to a coworkers house. Snacked on chips and salsa...not on my diet but still vegan. Oh, and wine. Did I check my vegan wine list....no. But I do have it loaded on my IPod and will remember to check it in the future.

Day 19 Saturday: Went paddling with the hubby! Didn't really eat anything before we left and neither of us packed anything. I don't think we expected to be gone so long. It was a gorgeous day but we were starving by the time we got home. So glad I had prepared the Seiten stew in the crockpots before we left. Came home to a wonderful savory smell in the house. Had stew for a late lunch then wanted to visit with the neighbors. Took over some margaritas and nacho tray! I made a separate container of beans layered with salsa, vegan ranch with green chilies, guac, lettuce and green olives for myself. Did not miss the cheese at all!

Day 16 Potluck and Veg Loaf

Mexican potluck at work today. Made up a layered dip. Was worried, but turned out really good. From bottom to top: mash sweet potatoes with salsa, refried beans, salsa, vegan chili ranch dressing, lettuce, black and green olives and diced avacado. Mmmmm!

Thank you to Katie who made a very good hicama/mandarin orange/cucumber salad with vegan dressing. Will need that recipe.

Tonight's dinner for the family was pork loin with mash potatoes and green beans. I took a Cooking Light recipe for turkey meatloaf and converted it to a veg loaf using Gimme Lean Sausauge Style. A little bit spicy, good flavor but slighty mushy since I did not use egg nor did I use something in its place. Still good though! Will work with this one.

Day 14 & 15

Day 14 - Monday was leftover spinach mushroom enchiladas (no pic). Didn't come out as well as I hoped but was worth reheating for lunch the next day. Dinner was chili and cornbread. I love that my grandfather's chili recipe is still suitable for this diet! It's my favorite!

Day 15 - Lunch was leftover chili/cornbread. Yum! Dinner I made a Coconut Curry with Chickpeas (chicken for the family) Turned out better than I expected. Will definitely make that one again as the family enjoyed it too!

Day 13 - Meal Planning

I rely heavily on weekly meal planning to keep on the vegan path.
Most recipes only require small adjustments to accommodate family (in parenthesis) while others are  more work but so worth the extra effort!

Sunday - Spinach Mushroom Enchiladas (sour cream chicken)
Monday - Chili and cornbread
Tuesday - Seitan (Beef-recipe from October Cooking Light) Provencal over eggless noodles
Wednesday - Green Curry Chickpeas (Chicken)
Thursday - Veg Loaf (Pork Loin), Mash taters, green beans
Friday - Pizza night
Saturday - Pecan crusted Tofu cutlets (Trout), carmelized onion/broccoli, quinoa

Now off to the grocery store! btw...I do plan on trying the Ambrosia Salad recipe sans coconut flakes
that was sent by the sponsor of the 21-Day Vegan Kick Start!

Day 12 - Saturday Morning Pancakes

From "How It All Vegan" by Sarah Kramer...mmmmmmm!

Day 11 - Vegin'out

Friday! Breakfast was Ezekial bread with apple butter...again. I am enjoying the convenience of having a loaf of Ezekial in the freezer at work. Plan to continue that practice. A friend took me out to lunch today. The Dogtooth cafe offers soup and sandwiches. The soup was Clam Chowder - not vegan. There was a Magnificent Seven vegetarian panini. Ordered that without the cheese. Bread was thin and crispy - like a grilled pita...scrumptious! The filling was mixed concoction of artichoke, mushroom, onion and peppers with pesto. Very good!
As it is Friday, that means pizza for the fam. Ordered another cheeseless pizza from Papa John's and used the vegan cilantro ranch dip. Very rapidly becoming a staple in my house!

Day 10 - Vegan Thursday

Today was a better day. Had some Ezekial bread and apple butter for breakfast. Lunch was veg chili (canned) over sweet potato. Dinner was a very successful experiment with quesadillas! Made traditional for the family. My setup consisted of mashed black beans, mashed sweet potato with salso, sauteed zucchini, mushroom and onion, green olives and homemade vegan cilantro-ranch dressing with a side salad. My dinner won! It was much prettier than the traditional quesos. Will absolutely make these again!

Day 9 - Not worth mentioning

Kinda got burned out on cooking today. Had a brunch potluck at work. I brought a loaf of cinnamon raisin Ezekial bread and apple butter. Worked through lunch and snacked on leftovers for dinner. No pics today.

Day 8 Good Intentions & Eating Out

Tuesday morning began with good intentions. Packed a good lunch of veggies, vegan ranch dip, almonds, apple, cereal and rice milk. I also packed some leftover black beans & tomatoes to make a soup for lunch.

I had planned on sweet potatoes for dinner, so I put whole sweet potatoes into the morning crockpot. This is the ultimate way to cook any type of potato. Set on low it cooks all day and is perfect by the time I get home from work!

When I arrived home the hubby and I decided to continue our Tuesday night date night tradition. We headed to Old Chicago's. I stayed vegan but not diet friendly. I ordered the Oriental Pasta Salad minus the chicken....and a side of fries.

Day 7 - Monday, Monday School Day

My lunchbox needed to be additionally creative today. Not only was I packing for breakfast and lunch, I was packing for a long night of school which was previously solved by the drive-thru. On the menu: oatmeal with apple juice concentrate (to sweeten) banana and dried cherries all nuked into a gooey bowl of warmth. Lunch consisted of Amy's lentil soup, broccoli/red pepper, and a very successfully blended batch of vegan ranch style dressing. Dinner had to be eaten in the car on the way to school. A hummus wrap to the rescue! And for dessert...pomegranete applesauce "no added sweetner!" They are always looking out for me! :)

Day 6 - Sunday leftovers and vegan junkfood

Ahhhhh Sunday morning. Hot coffee, a newspaper and some quiet morning hours to plan my week. I started with leftover scrambled tofu, half of a green apple, a mini bagel and black cherry jam. Sundays are my busy days. I was so focused on planning my menu for the week I hadn't really thought about that very day. The boys and I went to the movies to see "9" and I silently gave myself atta'boys for avoiding movie theatre popcorn. The hubby requested that I bring home chicken wings. On the way to pick up the wings, I made a quick stop at my local Whole Foods and purchased some vegan chickun nuggets and veganaise (vegan mayo) to try a new ranch dressing recipe. Success! The dressing was minimal fuss and maximum Yum!

Day 5 Vegan Kick Start: Saturday Breakfast

My breakfast are usually pretty quick and easy but since it is Saturday, took some extra time to make a batch of Tofu Scramble! (posting steps in subsequent photos) 1. Prepped my tofu by slicing and draining off as much liquid as possible. 2. I sauteed a quarter slice of Gimme Lean Sausage Style with some mushrooms. 3. I used leftover leek/pepper mix from the Peppered Pasta recipe on Day 3 and added some spices (paprika, cumin, thyme, tumeric, salt and pepper). 4. Add a little water to deglaze the pan and scrape the bits off the bottom, then crumble tofu into the mixture and heat.
I wrapped mine into a tortilla with some salsa...ooh goodness wrap!

Day 4 Vegan Kick Start Lunchbox and Dinner

Day 4 Lunchbox: Leftover pasta and broccoli from Day 3, apple, tomato cucumber salad, peanut butter-banana on Ezekial bread pita, orange/mango juice, coffee and a half lemon for my water.

Yeah! It's Friday! However this poses a new challenge. Our family has ordered pizza every Friday night for the last 10 years. Tempting! I could make my own, which I have done in the past, but chose instead to order Papa Johns small veggie pizza with no cheese and extra sauce. I verified online that the crust and sauce were vegan. It was surprisingly satisfying! I sprinkled a little Vegan Grated Topping (vegan Parmesan) which filled the cheese void that I thought I needed.

Day 3 Vegan Kick Start: What's for Dinner?

Peppered Pasta (recipe from meal planner), garlic broccoli (recipe from meal planner) and toasted garlic bread. Peppered pasta was just okay. I added green olives and some garlic to bring out some stronger flavor. I decided to caramelize the onion in the broccoli recipe...yum!

Day 3 Vegan Kickstart Lunchbox

Smart Start cereal with rice milk, leftover taco fixing from last night; I'm going to add water and make a soup! Cantaloupe, apple, baby carrots, almonds and half a lime to put in water...I'm going to need a bigger lunchbox!

Day 2 Vegan Kick Start Lunchbox and Dinner!

My family are meat eaters so I adopt a build-your-own philosophy for dinners with the hopes that they will try a bit of the vegan pans...and often do! Tonight was tacos. The fam' had a pan of cooked chicken breast. The upper left pan consists of potato/black beans and green chilies. The lower left pan is a pepper onion mixture. My plate looked lovely along side some fresh cantaloupe!

Day 1 Vegan Kick Start: What's for Dinner?

Vegan Swiss Steak with Roasted Red Potatoes Recipe Here!
Instead of using seiten, I chose a vegan gardenburger patty. It's under all that sauce!

I sliced some red potatoes, tossed them with a little olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and baked in the oven. Mmmmm!

Day 1 Vegan Kick Start (9-8-09)

I am no stranger to cooking vegan. I've been an on/off again vegetarian since I took the VegPledge in 2000 to battle some health problems. I have an arsenal of cookbooks, but I will utilize the recipes from Meal Planner provided by the 21 Day Vegan Kick Start resource page as much as possible.

I began this journey on 9/8/09 and have been posting on my Facebook page. I decided to move the postings to this blog so bear with me while I play catch up!

21 Day Vegan Kick Start!

I decided to sign up for a 21 Day Vegan Kick Start beginning on 9-8-09.
I will be journaling my 21 days in photos! Click the link if you'd like to find out more about it.