Lunch in a Box: Edamame Hummus

We eat a lot of hummus in our household. It's a relatively healthy snack and is easy to grab on the go, or fill up the extra space in my favorite lunchbox container. But store bought hummus often has more oil than we really need, so I try to make it at home so that I can control the ingredients. I'll be honest- it doesn't always taste as good. But I'm convinced that one day I'll find the perfect combination that does, and when I do, there's not a chance in hell I'll share it with you because that will be my ticket to getting rich I'll be more than happy to let you know.

I usually use garbanzo beans, or maybe cannellini beans, when making hummus. But I have not tried edamame until now.  I almost like the texture better using edamame, and the taste is phenomenal. I found a recipe on Oh She Glows, and tweaked it just a bit for my tastes.

Edamame Hummus
makes about 8- 1/4 cup servings

1 bag frozen edamame (thawed, or simmered in boiling water until thawed)
1 T tahini
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
juice of 1-2 lemons
salt and pepper to taste
dash (or 3) of Sriracha (depending on how much spice you like)
water for thinning (I used about 1/2 cup)


Throw everything in a food processor and hit the button. Process until it's as smooth as you can get it. I chose not to top mine off with any oil, because I'm getting married in 7 weeks and I seriously need to get this "shaping up" business taken care of soon. I don't think it needs it anyway, so save yourself the extra calories.

I packed the hummus with bell pepper sticks, and leftovers from dinner the night before (roasted tofu and brussels sprouts over brown rice). According to my Lose It app, a 1/4 cup serving has 67 calories, 2.9 grams of fat, and 5.5 grams of protein. My total lunch was around 340 calories (plus snacks of 1/2 a grapefruit and a clementine).

Lunch in a Box: Farro Salad with Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

It's a plant strong week in our household! After 3 nights of baking sweets, and overindulging on Saturday, I was ready to get back to the basics. I <briefly> entertained the idea of adding chicken to our diet this week after tasting some really delicious kebobs on Saturday night, but when it came to pulling the trigger, I just couldn't do it. I'm so conflicted about eating meat when I know the conditions it's been raised in. So I pulled a 180 on Hank and went flat out vegan on my weekly HEB visit.

I decided to keep it really simple this week, and rather than pulling together a bunch of recipes, we're just eating a ton of fresh fruit and vegetables, and plenty of beans and whole grains. It really is as easy as it sounds when you throw out the notion that each meal has to have a certain amount of x,y,z. For example, on Sunday night we ate roasted okra and roasted spaghetti squash with an avocado "cream" sauce. Just put a bunch of clean food on your plate, and you really don't have to worry about a thing.

I found the recipe for the Farro Salad on the Cooking Canuk blog, and used it for our lunches on Monday/Tuesday. I had spinach that needed to be used, fresh basil sitting on the counter, and sun-dried tomatoes in the freezer (you never know when they will come in handy), so it was a piece of cake to throw together. I used the whole bag of farro and it made about 5 1-cup servings (perfect for 2 girl, and 2 guy portions).

I modified the dressing and only used 1 Tb of olive oil.
Spread out over 4 servings, it keeps the calorie/fat count down.

I rounded out the meal with leftover roasted spaghetti squash from the night before, and a clementine (on Tuesday I switched the fruit to grapes). The squash is topped with a little dollop of cilantro chutney that gives a good spicy flavor to the squash. This is one of Hank's favorite condiments and comes in handy on many occasions.

Check out the blog post for the actual recipe, and give it a try. I found it tasty and filling, and think it would be good warm or cold (I heated mine up). And please feel free to share any easy, go-to things you like to pack in your lunch.

Lunch in a Box: Quinoa Sweet Cakes

I wrote a post yesterday about getting back into weekly meal planning. I stumbled across a few interesting recipes and am really pleased with the things I have made so far. Last night, I made a Sweet Potato and Kale Pesto pizza that was absolutely deliciously. I used a minimum amount of oil in the pesto, and the result was a fresh and tasty pizza that was not the least bit greasy. It was healthy, without TASTING healthy! It was a winner for sure.

I also made Sweet Quinoa Cakes and a Creamy Tahini Kale Salad for our lunches today and later this week. (You can find links to all of the recipes from yesterday's post). I've had multiple failed attempts at making veggie burgers, so I was a little skeptical of this recipe. But they turned out just fine, and actually taste really good. We often rely on frozen veggie burgers for quick lunches, but I like finding alternatives that are not made with soy. These have a little extra quinoa in them, so they pack a good punch in the fiber department.

Kale is one of the best foods you can eat. It's full of fiber, fights off yucky diseases, and even makes your skin and hair healthy. It puts the SUPER in superfood. It's also ridiculously inexpensive. At my HEB, a bundle costs 98 cents. It does cook down quite a bit, so I usually count on only getting 2 servings out of one bundle. The Kale Salad that I made was lacking some of the zing that I thought it would have, but it's still tasty. The recipe makes a ridiculous amount of dressing, and I only used about a third of it. Any more than that and the kale would have been soggy. I will definitely tweak the quantity, and also find a way to add a little more flavor to it. But I think it's worth making again.

I rounded out our lunches with some carrot sticks with hummus, and fresh grapes for "dessert". I also packed an apple for Hank, and a Cutie for me to have as an afternoon snack.

Sweet Quinoa Cakes:

The recipe calls for 1/2 cup each of quinoa and lentils. I upped the quinoa to 1 cup so that I could get more cakes out of the mix. I left the lentils alone because I'm not a huge fan. For seasoning, I used 1/2 T chipotle chili power (gave it a nice kick), and 1 tsp each of turmeric and garlic powder. But I love that the recipe is easy to tailor to your taste. Once I had all my components in the bowl, I ended up adding about 1/3 cup of cornmeal, just to make it stick together easier. I sprayed my baking sheet with a bit of olive oil, and ended up cooking them for closer to 30 minutes so that they would be a little crispy on each side. I was able to get a total of 12 cakes out of the mix.

Lunch in a Box: Spaghetti Squash with Kale and Chickpeas

I love having leftovers for lunch- it makes packing my lunch so much easier than planning an extra meal! After attending a cookie exchange yesterday afternoon (more on that later), I was in the mood for something light and healthy. Thanks to Pinterest, I came across this dish (Oh My Gosh, Spaghetti Squash) AND the healthy blog it came from. I've now added My New Roots to my Google reader and am looking forward to more delicious dishes.

The dish was super easy. Just go to the link above for ingredients and directions. Aside from splitting open the spaghetti squash, it took under an hour from start to finish. While the squash is baking, assemble the remaining ingredients and start sautéing them when there is only about 10 minutes left to go. It made enough for barely 4 servings, so I would recommend maybe using 2 bunches of kale for a heartier serving. I sprinkled dinner with a little parmesan from the fridge, but you could leave it out for a vegan dish if you wanted.

Dinner last night

So I had already prepared my lunch box last night, but needed to fill the other two compartments. We had gone to a Christmas party on Friday that had a Mexican food theme. Knowing that we would be gorging on tamales, I made a crudite tray with a spicy Chamoy dipping sauce to take. I found the recipe in one of my Rick Bayless cookbooks, but lucky for you it's also online. Click on this link for the Mexican Crudite Platter with Chamoy Dipping Sauce. I purchased 2 whole pineapples (because they're half the price of buying them already cut up). I have a nifty tool that takes out the center, so it wasn't too hard. It sounds weird to dip pineapple in a spicy sauce, but just trust me on this one. I passed on the jicama and radish in the recipe, and instead used yellow bell pepper, mini carrots, cherry tomatoes and sliced cucumber. I so wished I had taken a picture because the tray came out beautifully, but I was in a rush to get out the door on time. The sauce was so easy to make, and the heat can be adjusted to your taste. This is a winner dish in my book!

So...long story short is that I had some sauce and veggies left over, so I threw those in my box too. Tasty, healthy, but still hearty enough that I won't be hungry in an hour. But in case I am, I have an apple to snack on later.

Lunch in a Box: Black Bean Wraps and Hummus

I was out most of the day yesterday (foster event, cookbook club, and seeing my parents), so I didn't have the usual time to make things for lunches for the week. I had made a meal plan earlier in the day though, and was able to churn out an amazing hummus recipe when I got home so that we would at least have something healthy to eat. Thankfully, Hank had made a rice and bean bowl for his dinner, so I was able to use his leftovers to make us wraps for today.

Lunch is pretty simple:

Black beans, rice and canned Rotel, along with fresh spinach of some roasted salsa, wrapped up in a whole-grain, 50 calorie wrap. I packed veggie sticks (carrots and green/red bell peppers) to dip into the hummus, and then a separate container with fresh strawberries and blackberries for an afternoon snack. Hank also got an avocado half to go with his wrap.

The hummus was a piece of cake. Throw everything in a food blender, and you're done. I found (and adapted slightly) the recipe on a great vegetarian blog called eat me, delicious. It's perfect with veggies, but would also make a good sandwich spread or dipped with naan.

Curried Pumpkin Hummus

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree

1/4 cup raw almonds

2-3 T tahini (I would use 3 if you cut out the oil, but 2 would be just fine)

1/3 cup water

1 T olive oil (I really don't think it even needed this much)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 tsp curry powder (you must love curry to love this dish)

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp sea salt (I used 1 tsp)

pinch of red pepper flakes

Blend ingredients in food processor for 3-5 minutes, until smooth and creamy.

Favorite Vegan Blog- Happy. Healthy. Life.

My few loyal readers might remember the ridiculous dedicated Lent pledge that we made to forgo all animal products. It was hard, I'm not going to lie. But the end result is that we eat about 90% vegetarian now, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. We do splurge plenty (my recent weight gain will speak to that), and even have a fancy steak dinner coming up this weekend. But M-F it's usually vegetarian fare in our household.

Eating vegetarian is actually pretty easy. Coming up with exciting dinners on a weekly basis is challenging though, no matter what you eat. I read plenty of food blogs, and this one has had my attention more than most lately. Not only is her title inspiring, but I think she makes food that is accessible for just about anyone. She also happens to take pictures that make her food look nothing short of mouth watering. Her ingredients are usually seasonal, fresh, and for the most part- healthy! Take a look at Healthy. Happy. Life. Below are just a few of the images from some of the lovely dishes she's created.

Baked, Stuffed Sweet Potatoes 

Green Island Fritters over rice

Frosted Blueberry Cake

On Friday night, Hank needed to carb load for an 18 mile run Saturday morning. I felt like doing something nice for him- so I picked a recipe from this site with his favorite (and my least-favorite) ingredient.....peas. I found a recipe for Cheese, Peas 'n Pasta and it seemed perfect. I had most of the ingredients, and it didn't look like it would take too long to make. Plus, it looked (almost) as decadent at macaroni and cheese, which I love! The result? Delicious!!! I was really impressed with the dish and so happy with how it turned out.

There are so many things I want to try from this blog, and I'm looking forward to a few more healthy dishes in the near future. If you need some dinner (or breakfast or lunch) inspiration, take a look at her recipes.

Lunch in a Box: Chili-Lime Tofu and Veggie Spring Rolls

This was my second attempt at spring rolls recently, and it was definitely easier. Not sure what happened though because they came out a little dry this go around. Next time, I think I will add a little of the peanut sauce to the noodles so they stay moist. The good news is that I have mastered the assembly process, added a tasty tofu to beef them up a little, and found a Peanut Dipping Sauce that I really really love! These are still one of my favorite lunchbox treats.

Veggie Spring Rolls, Chickpea and Quinoa Salad, Fresh Berries

You can check out my original blog post from when I made these a few months ago. The only tweaks I made were not using romaine lettuce (though I wish I had), and using sliced cucumber in place of zucchini. The chili-lime tofu is not to be missed though. I felt like these were originally a little too low on calories and protein, and this was just the thing to make it right. The recipe comes from my Appetite for Reduction cookbook that has been a great staple to my library. It's all easy and filling low-fat vegan recipes, and I've loved everything I've made from this book. This particular recipe will join the regular rotation for sure.

If you're interested in making the spring rolls, I suggest setting aside about 1.5 hours, and maybe even getting the help of an assistant. Kids should be able to help add veggies to the rolls, and if you aren't totally OCD, they could likely roll their own too. What a fun way to get their help in making lunches. They don't have to be vegan- if you have picky kids (and/or significant other), chili-lime chicken would be just as good.


Cilantro-Lime Tofu

1 package of extra-firm tofu, pressed to remove some liquid and poked with a fork
2 T chili powder
1 tsp salt
zest of 1 lime
juice of 2 limes
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp oil (I used vegetable)
1 T tamari

1- Mix chili powder and salt in a small ramekin and set aside.
2- Add other ingredients (minus the tofu) in a shallow baking dish.
3- Slice tofu into thin slices (about 1/2 inch thick) and add to marinade, flipping over so that both sides are damp.
4- Rub both sides of tofu with the chili/salt mix, and leave in the baking dish.
5- Bake at 350 for 10 minutes on each side. Cool before adding to spring rolls.


While the tofu is cooking, mix together your peanut sauce (or just use a store bought version) and chop up the veggies you plan on using. Don't overdo it or your rolls will be too thick and will break. Once your tofu is ready, assemble all your spring roll ingredients (including the cooked vermicelli noodles, preferably mixed with a little sauce or lime juice to keep them moist).

Sliced cucumbers and red bell pepper, shredded carrots from a bag, and chopped cilantro.

Get organized, and don't forget a shallow plate with hot water for the wrappers. I saved the hot water from the noodles and it worked great. Soften the next wrapper while you're working on filling one.

Add noodles, veggies and tofu to bottom third of wrapper. I work on a damp towel to prevent sticking.

Fold in sides to cover ingredients.

Roll wrapper towards top, pinching in to make the roll stay tight.

I made a total of 12 rolls and had enough ingredients leftover to make at least 4 more. But this amount is perfect for 2 days of lunches for the both of us. The fresh berries I added for dessert were easy, as was the cold chickpea/quinoa salad (also from Appetite for Reduction) that I'll be using for other lunches as well.

Sunday in the Kitchen- Hippie Loaf (Vegan Not-So-Comfort Food)

One of my mom's favorite meals is meatloaf with mashed potatoes and peas- a near perfect comfort food meal. She loves to mix the peas with the potatoes, and it has always grossed me out. So it would be just my luck that Hunk has the same affinity for this exact meal. While browsing the Happy Herbivore site this morning for my weekly meal plan, we came across a recipe for "Hippie Loaf" that OF COURSE was pictured with mashed potatoes and peas. Hunk was sold!

Since I'm less of a fan, we bargained for roasted new potatoes and green beans. The loaf was really easy to put together. Black beans and quinoa made up the bulk of the loaf. I already had to make quinoa for another dish I was working on, so it was nice to be able to knock that out in one step. All the other ingredients got chopped and dumped in a big bowl, and then into a loaf pan. I cooked it with the roasted potatoes (tossed with veggie broth, garlic, salt and fresh rosemary), and I think that made it take longer to cook. I had the oven set to 375, and even cooking it closer to an hour (plus), the inside was still a little mushy.

The taste was alright, but I don't know that I would make this again. The texture just made it hard to enjoy. I might be able to broil the leftover slices and make something decent with it, but I'm just not sold yet. Fortunately, the bulk of my work in the kitchen today went toward lunch items that hopefully will have a better return on investment. The one redeeming quality of the meal was a delicious bottle of Bordeaux, (and possibly some ice cream for dessert).

Sunday in the Kitchen- Homemade Bread and Cleaning out the Fridge

When we first started combing households, I knew we'd have a lot of cleaning out to do in the kitchen. Turns out we had at least 2 of nearly every kitchen appliance and utensil possible. In one case though, Hunk had me beat. He had a bread maker- something I have wanted for such a long time. Given how much I love bread- I always thought it best not to have the temptation of fresh baked bread whenever I want it. Until now. I read a blog post the other day about herbed rolls made in a crockpot, and it tempted me to pull out the bread machine and whip something up. I found a dairy free recipe here, and just added some fresh chopped rosemary (and maybe a little freshly grated parmesan) into the ingredients. The result was nothing short of amazing. So amazing, that I didn't even bother taking pictures. I pulled that warm loaf out and immediately started slicing so I could enjoy it right away. However, I did toast a few slices to use for our "kitchen sink" dinner that evening, and I do have pictures of that!

I usually do grocery shopping on Sundays and clean out the fridge in preparation for the next week. Lately I feel like I've been throwing out more than I should, so we tried to use up a few things for dinner that otherwise would have gone to waste. The result? A veggie potato hash. Leftover hash browns from the freezer, and broccoli and an onion that were getting close to their last days. I also made some Chickpea Spread using up a can from the pantry and greek yogurt that was about to get tossed. I already had everything needed to make it, and we'll use what's left for lunches during the week.

The veggie potato hash was so easy, and a really great way to use up anything you have in the fridge. You could easily add meat and cheese if you want to make it a complete meal. I grated some parmesan on top before putting in on the broiler to give it a little bit of a crust. But the possibilities are endless and I'll definitely revisit this dish again soon.

Ingredients:

Potatoes (finely grated), or grocery store hash browns from freezer section (thawed)
veggies
olive or vegetable oil
chopped garlic
seasonings (I used salt, pepper and red pepper flakes- but herbs would be nice too)

Directions:

Drop the broccoli in salted boiling water for just about a minute- you want it to be bright green and just a little bit soft when you take it out. Immediately put the broccoli in an ice bath.

While the broccoli is cooking, get a skillet heated with about 2 T of oil in it. I try not to cook with that much oil, but it's nearly impossible to get browned hash browns without it. When oil is hot, add onions- stirring often. Once they're slightly softened, add in the garlic. I used 1 teaspoon (adjust to your tastes).

Add in the potatoes and seasoning, and let the potatoes start to brown. Then add in the broccoli, check the seasoning, and brown just a little bit longer. At this point, you can also put it under the broiler to brown the top.

When all was said and done, this is what our final meal looked like. I can't stand to have food that is all the same color (in this case- green and white), so I added a few carrots to the plate. Overall, a healthy meal that allowed us to keep from wasting food.

Lunch in a Box: Chickpea Spread

The current book for my Cookbook Club is Super Natural Every Day, by Heidi Swanson. It's unusual that we've had back-to-back vegetarian books, but I've certainly enjoyed it. This one is full of fresh, healthy dishes and I have yet to have made one that I didn't really like. It's divided by Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks and Dinner- and there are some perfect "make ahead" recipes that are great for lunches. It's also one of the prettiest cookbooks we've had in awhile. You can download a sampler here if you're interested in seeing more.

The Chickpea Wraps from the lunch section is one of the first recipes I made, and it has been repeated a few times since. It's easy to put together, you can use the spread in a variety of ways, it's tasty, and also really healthy! What I also love about her recipes is that it's really easy to improvise depending on what you have on hand.

For this lunch, I made the spread and served it over spinach with some naan bread on the side so that I could make my own little sandwich when I got to work. I also put some red bell pepper strips and sliced cucumber on the side, along with mango for dessert. It was delicious and filling!

Chickpea Spread
(adapted from super natural every day)

2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 chopped shallot
2-3 stalks chopped celery
2 T chopped fresh dill (rosemary or tarragon is also nice)
2 T dijon mustard
1 cup fat-free Greek yogurt (I use Fage. Plain soy yogurt will work, too. It's just a little sweeter.)
sea salt to taste
juice of 1 lemon

Pulse 1 1/2 cans of chickpeas in food processor, and then pour in a bowl with the remaining chickpeas. Add chopped shallot, celery, and herbs.

In a small bowl, whisk the yogurt, mustard and salt. I also add just a touch of lemon juice to the mix (and maybe some chopped garlic if I have it). Add 2/3 of the yogurt mix to the chickpea mix, and stir to combine. Add salt and lemon juice as needed.

You can use the remaining yogurt mix to spread on whatever type of bread you choose to make a sandwich. Or just serve a dollop of the chickpea spread on a bed of greens, and top with a spoonful of the yogurt mix.

Week 11: Plant-Based Diet Update

Well, I've survived 3 whole weeks of eating not eating meat/dairy/oil. I thought it would get a little bit easier each week, but the truth is- it's only getting harder. The first week I think the novelty of it helped me get through. The second week, I did more meal planning with Hunk, and that was fun. But this week? All I want to do is stuff my face with the biggest slice of cheese pizza I can get my hands on. Instead, I tried to meal plan efficiently, and spent about 2.5 hours in the kitchen yesterday prepping some new dishes so that I wouldn't spend all my time thinking about cheese. To make matters worse, SXSW is in full effect this week with opportunities at every corner to partake in all the food goodness that Austin has to offer.

The good news is that I've lost about 3.5 pounds, and my jeans are definitely looser. I have a few more to go, but I'm trying not to lose more than a pound a week. I met with a nutritionist last week and we went over all the things I should be including in my diet to stay healthy (including calories and grams of protein p/day), and that has definitely helped with keeping my energy level up. Overall, I would say that I feel great. I'm sleeping fine, and able to get through my work-outs without any problem. Hunk is another story. I don't think he's been getting enough calories OR protein, and is having to make some major adjustments this week. Hopefully he'll feel better by doing so.

This weekend we had a "what happens after Lent" discussion, and how we incorporate the good things about a plant-based diet in with the things that we really just don't want to give up permanently. The key to keeping the pounds off of course is moderation. Duh. We have 4 more weeks to go before we have to worry about that, and I think we can do it. In the meantime, we're just going to do our best to have a good variety of foods, and not focus too much on what we're missing. For all the benefits of eating this way, I will say that it feels isolating- and that's just not something I'm willing to deal with for the rest of my life. I have still been able to go out and eat with friends, but there is way too much thought (and high-maintenance ordering) to deal with for me to make this a long term lifestyle.

To make things more interesting, I ordered some bento-style lunch boxes from Easy Lunchboxes. There's something about packing a neat and organized lunch that makes it more enjoyable for me (it's the OCD, I know). Today was the first day that I got to use it, and I have to say I made a pretty killer lunch. It's colorful, full of great things for me, and tasty to boot. Unless I bring leftovers, lunch for me is usually salad and fruit, along with morning and afternoon snacks. Today I had a spinach salad with roasted beets, carrots, tomatoes, zucchini and a 3-bean salad with an oil-free apple cider vinaigrette. I also had roasted red pepper hummus with carrot sticks and strawberries for dessert. In case I get hungry this afternoon, I have soy yogurt to tide me over. Not too shabby, if I say so myself.

Week 8: An Apple A Day....Adopting better eating habits

There is no hiding the fact that I have been indulgent and lazy in my lifestyle over these past few months. I could blame a new (very happy) relationship, holidays, a knee injury....there are plenty of excuses! But the fact is, I've gotten in the habit of making bad choices in regards to my diet and exercise. Sure, I trained for a half-marathon, but I pretty much did the bare minimum for that. I have completely neglected all the hard work I put into getting in shape for triathlon season last year, and it's time to put an end to it.

My family and close friends will certainly agree to this next statement- I have slight OCD tendencies. And these tendencies often manifest themselves in different ways. When it comes to trying to lose weight, they can definitely kick into high gear. For me, that usually means an all or nothing approach, and that's exactly how I'm tackling my current situation. Not everyone agrees with it, but it's what works for me. Here's how my recent "project" started...

I met up with a friend for drinks, and she was filling me in on her recent "plant-based diet", the result of a New Year's Resolution to eat better. I know I probably looked at her like she was crazy. No meat! No dairy! NO CHEESE!!!! For the love of God, why would anyone do this to themselves?! But the more I listened to her talk about the why, the more interested I became. She told me about a documentary called Forks Over Knives that focuses on the science behind a plant based diet, and the belief that it can help prevent/cure diseases and help people lose weight. The film also features a local Austin firefighter, Rip Esselstyn, who helped a fellow firefighter with life-threatening high cholesterol lose weight and get healthy, through a plant-based diet. He went on to write The Engine 2 Diet, full of helpful information, recipes, etc. Book #2 is currently in the works.

Hunk and I had both been moaning and groaning about how we had each gained weight, so he tossed out the idea of giving up meat and dairy for Lent. I'm not very religious, so my purpose was more about getting back to a healthier me. But how could I not support him for 40 days? So Lent it would be. But remember that OCD I mentioned? Starting a new way of eating on a Wednesday was not going to fly with me, so we did a bunch of meal planning over the weekend, a ton of shopping on Sunday, and officially started our plant-based diet on Monday.

The general guidelines (according to the Engine 2 book) are to exclude meat, dairy and oil from your diet. Most people (myself included) think that things like olive oil are "good fats". But the fact is that it has highly concentrated calorie and fat amounts, with almost no nutrients to make it worth eating. So the goal is to limit as much oil as you can, especially if you're trying to lower your cholesterol. That's not a problem that I have, but I'm sticking with it for now just to see what it does for me. You can get enough protein from sources like beans, whole grains, soy, and even vegetables (broccoli and spinach are two great examples) without eating meat and dairy.

Four days in, and I'm doing better than expected. Planning is a key factor in being successful, as far as I'm concerned. That way, you don't set yourself up for getting hungry, and then not having food you can eat readily available. I think our menu for the week looks great! I tried really hard to meet protein needs, as well as getting enough calories and other good nutrients. It's pretty easy to do as long as you're including a variety of food in your meals. I spent about $100 at the grocery store (excluding non-edible items), which I don't think is that bad for 3 meals a day for 7 days. Plus, I had to buy a few extra things that I'll use over the weeks to come, so I expect my grocery bill to go down next week. Here is what my first week of plant-based eating looks like:

MONDAY:

B- oatmeal, berries, ground flax seed

L- large spinach salad w/ mixed veggies and Cashew Ranch dressing

D- Galloping greens w/ cashew sauce (from E2 site) 

snacks: clementine, hummus and veggies/crackers

TUESDAY:

B- mixed cereal w/ soy milk, bananas and kiwi

L- spinach salad with black bean veggie burger, mashed sweet potatoes on the side 

D- Pasta Primavera (from E2 site)

snacks: apple w/almond butter, veggie sticks (carrots, bell peppers, celery)

WEDNESDAY:

B- oatmeal, berries, ground flax seed

L- leftover Pasta Primavera, small spinach salad

D- black beans and rice w/ veggie mix (peppers, corn, tomato, jalapeno, kale)

snacks: clementine, kale butter w/carrot and cucumber slices

THURSDAY:

B- mixed cereal w/ soy milk, bananas and kiwi

L- leftover beans and rice, grapes

D- roasted tofu and steamed green beans with cashew sauce

snacks: apple w/almond butter, veggie sticks w/kale butter

FRIDAY:

B- Fruit smoothie w/soy milk, frozen banana, mango pineapple, and protein powder 

L- Hummus sandwich w/leftover veggies, applesauce

D- sweet potato gnocchi with veggie meat crumbles, tomato sauce and spinach

snacks: grapes, roasted sweet potato slices

I realize that this is a pretty radical change to our typical eating habits, and it's not a likely plan for everyone. I know my mom thinks I'm nuts, and wonders where the "real food" is. But honestly, all of the meals so far have been really good, and I don't feel like I'm missing out that much. I'm excited to see how I feel after a few weeks, and am hopeful that this will point me in a better long-term direction. I'm sure I'll start to miss things soon (cheese pizza anyone?), but so far so good. Hunk and I are trying to make it a fun adventure, complete with a hummus cook-off, date nights at Whole Foods, and even a picnic lunch on Fridays. I bet we can find even more ways to make this fun as we go along!