Mi Amor Meals

Shh, don't tell my fiance, but I'm starting to think about what to make for a romantic valentine's day dinner. One may wrongly think that eating a plant-based diet is very utilitarian: beans and rice, lentils and rice, etc. It doesn't have to be. Here's where I'm looking for inspiration for a heart-healthy, romantic dinner:

Happy Herbivore: A blog and cookbook featuring low or no-fat everyday meals. She's even got a valentine's breakfast and dessert blog up already.

Post Punk Kitchen: A blog from the author of Appetite for Reduction and many other vegan cookbooks. Her rasberry truffle brownies recipe is a serious contender for dessert.

Vegan Yum Yum: This blog and cookbook  focuses on decadent, animal free recipes. Their rustic bread and eggplant lasagna is looking mighty tasty for a main entree.

Engine 2 Diet: Technically, my challenge ends on Sunday, but I've enjoyed my experience and am hoping to keep it up.

Happy Cow: A healthy, plants only recipe resource. The avocado caprese is leading my list of appetizers.

If you want a shortcut to a meatless meal for your loved one, check out this collection of 10 vegetarian recipes from last year.

Break Fast

I didn't realize how much I enjoyed taking time to prepare really tasty food on this challenge until this week's hectic schedule made that pretty darn near impossible. If you're strictly following the Engine 2 28-day challenge, you've got to either take time or prep in advance. I did neither this week, but survived. Here's how:

Challenge: 30 minutes between getting home from work and needing to leave for my precinct caucus.
Solution: Veggie pizza with leftover ancho taco lentils

Challenge: No time between work and a legislative forum (they had food, just not E2 food).
Solution: Snack of pita and peanut butter that I have in my office (and fresh veggies from the forum's buffet) and my fiance's pasta when I got home.

Challenge: Out every night this week = no time to cook meals with leftovers for lunch.
Solution: Hummus, fresh veggies, and pita


Challenge: Woke up late and can't miss the bus!
Solution: Stop at the coop grocery story by my office and pick up whatever I can find that fits the challenge (this is much easier to do at a coop, Whole Foods or a natural/health store than say Target, but you can find something anywhere (even a gas station!))

When you don't have time to make the good stuff yourself where you know what's in it, you've got to read the label. Not the front of the label, but the back. Look at the ingredients list and look at the full nutrition facts (not the %, but the grams.) Not sure what you're looking for? Whole Foods offers a great guide for the Engine 2 challenge.

Do or donut?

With only six days left in my Engine 2 28-day challenge, I'm starting to wonder what my eating habits will look like without the challenge. Will I stop myself from grabbing the samples of brownies, cheese or salted, oil-fried tortilla chip and guacamole as I walk through the grocery store? Will I choose those extra 10 minutes in bed over fixing a healthy breakfast like I did before? What will be the food that breaks the challenge ( I mean it has to be something really worth it, doesn't it?)?

The big question is: can there be a middle ground in my eating habits? Willpower is not my strong suit. Once I eat that pastry, what is going to stop me from eating the next one...the next day? The premise with the challenge is that if you stick it out (like I have) for the full challenge your taste buds will change and those foods will start to taste oily, salty or fatty instead of tasty. I guess I don't really believe that yet.

Tough Love and Nachos

Whole Foods Market has succumbed to the false pretense that Super Bowl parties mean high calorie, meat-centric food. For the past 20 days, I've been eating plant-based, no added oil or salt whole grain foods thanks to the support of Whole Foods Market's 28-day Engine 2 challenge. Up until this weekend, every time I went into a Whole Foods store I found not only healthy ingredients, but prepped Engine 2 foods I could grab on the run. 

This weekend, I almost did a double take as "America's Healthiest Grocery Store" replaced plant-based, oil-free and vegetarian options on their deli bar with trays of chicken wings and fried chicken. The healthy wraps and salad sections were converted to dips and chips and meat chili storage. End caps featured soda, chips and frozen pizzas. It looked like any other grocery store or Target, and for that I was sad. Even their facebook page seemed hijacked by unhealthy promoting chicken wings, steak, dips and soda. I'll admit it. The marketing was working. Suddenly, I was reminded of the sugar rush from soda and desserts and the salty, greasy satiation of chips, chicken and pizza. It was the first time since I started the challenge I felt my willpower kick in. 

(photo: www.engine2diet.com)

Thankfully, I remembered that  Engine 2 offers a fun, healthy version of Super Bowl favorites, and I rushed to get out of the store. When you have healthy options around you and promoted, you will choose them because they make you feel better and can be very satisfying. It's a lot harder when your barraged with the bad stuff.  

 Whole Foods has a good thing going by providing a place that supports people making healthy choices. What I saw in their stores this weekend hurt that brand. They don't have to get rid of those options, but highlighting the healthier options with the same enthusiasm would be appreciated.

What we're eating for the game: corn tortilla chips (simply cut up food for life corn tortillas and bake in the oven for 20 mins at 325 degrees), Post-punk kitchen's ancho lentil taco filling, Happy Herbivore's quick queso and tofu sour cream, homemade salsa, limes, cherry tomatoes, red onions and avocado. Super delicious! Go patriots!

Nothing Too Weird

Last night, my parents arrived for a weekend visit. When I offered to have dinner ready when they arrived, my mom hesitantly responded "That would be good, but don't make anything too weird." Well, I like a challenge, so I set out to make a plant-based, healthy meal that was strictly in their comfort zone. The solution? My dad loves fettuccine alfredo, so I made a recipe out of the Happy Herbivore cookbook. The base of the sauce is silken tofu, soymilk and nutritional yeast. I forgot that our soymilk is slightly sweetened, so I had to up the garlic and onion powder and cayenne to cover the sweet. I also decided to skip adding peas or other veggies (the cookbook has a great suggestion of adding spinach and tomato) because we roasted up some broccoli and brussel sprouts as a side.  With black pepper, fresh parsley and vegan parmesan on the table to season the food, it was time for dinner. I also quickly made a pitcher of water with half a lemon and blood orange juiced in and slices of both for presentation.

Everyone liked the alfredo, and we were remarking that the calories and fat were more than cut in half in this version (and no cholesterol.) A 2 cup serving of Happy Herbivore's fettuccine alfredo has about 400 calories, whereas the lunch portion of fettuccine alfredo at Olive Garden has 800 calories. The fat, saturated fat and cholesterol in that Olive Garden lunch was more than I had in all my meals yesterday. There is more protein in the plant-based version of the dish as well.

The Happy Herbivore cookbook has been a great resource for inspiration as I adopt more plant-based, no oil healthy meals into my diet. Her blog is a great resource as well.

So, I don't think there is anything too weird about making one of my dad's favorite dishes much healthier.

Just Try Something New

I love to create new dishes in the kitchen, but sometimes need some inspiration. After falling in love with Whole Foods' Sesame Ginger oil-free dressing that came with their Asian Salad, I bought a bottle of the dressing and started thinking about other applications beyond topping salads. What immediately came to mind was a Rachel Ray peanut satay stir-fry recipe I found online and enjoyed (back when I ate meat.) So tonight for dinner, I made a version that met the Engine 2 28-day challenge. It was really good, especially with a bright citrus slaw to contrast with the rich sesame/peanut sauce of the stirfry.

I've talked alot about oil-free salad dressings on the blog, and I know not everyone has access to Whole Foods to buy their version... so I offer Healthy Girl's Kitchen's Big List of No Oil Salad Dressings... now you can make your own!

Sesame Ginger Tempeh with Stir-fried Veggies

1/2 red onion
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 green bell pepper
4 oz bell mushrooms
2-3 carrots
2 celery stalks
1 tsp chili garlic sauce
1 tsp Bragg's liquid aminos (or low salt soy sauce)
3-4 T Whole Foods Oil-Free Sesame Ginger Salad Dressing
1/2 lime
Water

Turn non-stick or stainless steel pan on high and and add chopped onions and garlic and brown. Have a cup of water by the stove if needed to clean the browned goodness off the bottom of the pan as you (also speeds up the cooking time of the veggies.) Chop and add in peppers, mushrooms, carrots, celery one at a time allowing each to cook as you go. Remove all the veggies while they are still slightly undercooked. Cut the tempeh into 1/2 inch by 1 inch strips and add to the pan allowing them to get some color, add in 1-2 T of water to release and remaining browned veggie goodness. Next, mix the garlic sauce and bragg's (or soy sauce) with a 1/4 cup of water and add to tempeh. Let the tempeh cook in the sauce until the sauce reduces to the point of almost disappearing and add back in the veggies and salad dressing. Stir, squeeze with lime and keep on low until ready to serve. Serve over brown rice, spinach or in a wrap. Garnish with cilantro or green onions.

Citrus Slaw
1/2 head green cabbage
1 carrot
1 radish
1 blood orange
1/2 lime
2 green onions
2 tsp Tangerine Vinagrette (oil-free)
1 jalapeno or serrano (optional)

Slice or chop the cabbage, radish and green onion for slaw. Shave the carrot with a veggie peeler. Supreme the orange (cut off the skin and slice out the juicy segments). Add the juice from the lime and vinagrette and mix.

Smooth Operator

I'm on day 17 of the 28-day Engine 2 challenge and life is good. This transition has been relatively smooth and I can see myself sticking to much of the challenge guidelines after its over (I do look forward to being able to go to a restaurant without cheating on my challenge (the no oil and added salt can be a challenge).) One of my favorite things about this challenge, aside from the tasty food and health benefits, is the positive energy that's surrounding it. In my office, colleagues are following the blog and trying some of the recipes and adopting some of the lessons I'm learning themselves. At home, my fiance and I are eating more meals together that I cook. With the support from Whole Foods, we're meeting new people who are also interested in making these lifestyle changes for the long term. It's about choices and filling your life with what you want.

I woke up this morning not wanting the same old cereal blend I've been eating, so my fiance offered to whip me up what he has for breakfast instead.

Meet my fiance's "dark knight" smoothie:

Dark Knight Smoothie

2 cups light soy milk
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 banana (fresh or frozen)
1 T flax seed
2 cups spinach

You drink this in the morning and you've got some serious nutrients* jumpstarting your day:
324 calories
1/3 of your daily potassium
12 g of fiber (60 g of total carbs)
17 g of protein
135% daily Vitamin A
71% daily Vitamin C
100% daily Calcium
25% daily Iron
No cholesterol, 298mg of sodium, and 6 grams of fat (no trans or saturated.)
* According to http://www.myfitnesspal.com/