This week has just been flying by. My son starts back to preschool next week, after a 6 month break. He gets way to bored at home and craves the interaction with other kids. He will be going three times a week and that means that I should have a little my time during the day and my time for him when he gets home. I bought him one of those great stainless steel wide mouth thermos’.

It is great. This one goes for $15.75, which was cheaper than what I paid for it at Walmart. It will make sending him to school with healthy food so much easier. I can warm something up in the morning and then send him to school with it and it will stay warm until lunch. The opening is wide enough for little hands when you send finger foods or for spooning out soups. I can’t wait to use this for him. I definitely plan on trying some of the recipes from Vegan Lunchbox.

I haven’t been cooking a lot lately because we have relatives in town. They are staying at my parents so we have been eating there a lot. It was great, on Sunday we ordered pizza, one of my favorites. I love Round Table Pizza with no cheese. There Gourmet Veggie (with red sauce) is the best. Monday they made ribs, but my uncle made some vegetarian beans for me. I thought that was very thoughtful. He said when he goes out on the wagon trains (which he likes to do) that they often prepare vegetarian foods because a lot of the people that go are vegetarian. So that is way cool. Tuesday they had salmon so I made the lentil soup that I told you about. Last night I had good old fashion boca burgers, while everyone else ate nasty hamburgers. I can tell I have been vegan for a while because we were in a restaurant the other day and I could smell the beef and it was actually making me nauseous. I almost couln’t eat it was so nasty.

My lentils had a great flavor, though the texture was kind of weird. I think I overcooked them and the skins floated to the top, but overall the were good.

I can’t believe it is already the middle of the week and time for MWM again. I think I missed posting last week, but want to make the rounds to check out what everyone bought this week.

Midweek Munchies: What Cindy is contributing for the week Write your delicious contributions here Grocery Store: Black Beans Lentils Carrots Onions Raisins Apples Bananas Apple Juice Lemons Limes Maple Syrup Veggie Chicken Nuggets (for my son) Garbanzo Beans Tahini Pita Spinach From the Garden: Serano Chiles Banana Peppers Orange Bellpepper Tomatoes Links to other Midweek Munchies (If you participate, leave your link in the comments and I’ll post it below; or, you can post in the comments)

Click here for the Midweek Munchies code
Click here for Harmonia’s blog

Trackbacks, pings, and comment links are accepted and encouraged!
Technorati Tag: Midweek Munchies

A special thanks to Running2Ks and Rift for all of their help with coding, graphics, and encouragement for this project.

PURPOSE of Midweek Munchies: Put together by a small group of Veg Women, we hope to spread the word about healthy vegetarianism while obtaining idea starters for meals, recipes, learn about new products, and meet other female veg*n bloggers. Visiting and commenting on other participants lists are encouraged but not required. Have fun and Go Veg!

Today for dinner I am making some delicious lentils. I have never made them from scratch before (using dried lentils that is) and am looking forward to tasting how they turned out. I soaked the lentils over night and then started cooking them in vegetable broth and water. I then sauteed onion, garlic, carrots and broccoli in a skillet and added salt, pepper, garam masala, turmeric, curry, Indian chile powder, cardamom, sweet basil, cumin and ground coriander seed. They are now simmering and smell so incredibly good. I will have to let you all know how they taste in the morning.

We had a junk fest the past couple of days and my stomach is paying, so I am looking forward to something more soothing and nourishing.

Happy Tuesday everyone. I am finishing up a project for work today and am hoping to go blog hopping tomorrow. I haven’t had much of a chance to visit everyone’s blogs and that makes me sad, because that is one of my favorite things to do. I love to read about what everyone has been up to and what everyone has been making to eat.

I have been on a bit of a hiatus lately. I have been doing lot’s of cooking, much of it not for myself. I have definitely found the perfect mix of being charitable and sharing vegan dishes with omni friends. I have had some neighbors and family friends who have been having a tough time lately, one had knee surgery and one is having a high risk pregnancy. I did some cooking for them to help reduce their load right now. It has been a great opportunity to bring comfort to loved ones and to share vegan recipes at the same time.  I made Vegan Minestrone Soup for my neighbor. I talked to them today and the husband told me it was some of the best soup he has ever had. He told me he never knew anyone who could cook as good as his mom and wants the link to my Eating Vegan Cookbook so he can try more of my recipes. I am always happy when people are excited about eating vegan foods. For my other neighbor I made Cream of Potato Soup, which is one of my favorites. She said her family really liked it.

I have also been making lot’s of hummus because my family can’t get enough of it. I made a double batch on Saturday and it was gone by the next day. Other than that we have actually been eating out some this week, you know Taco Bell, cheeseless veggie pizza from Round Table (which is super delicious), Veggie Burgers and fries from Denny’s. We bought a car last week and it tied up a lot of time searching for the car and then doing all the paperwork and such. We got a Pontiac Vibe and I love it. It is smaller than our Tahoe, but gets up to 34mpg, which I definitely love.
I have also been working on a new blog called Vegan Fashion Blog. I bet you can’t guess what it is about. This is an opportunity for me to have a little fun and discover a whole new type of fashion, while sharing my great fashion finds with others. This has been a fun project for me. I hope you all enjoy it.
My hubbie is back on dairy, he just doesn’t seem to have the discipline to stay away from it. Maybe in the future. I am beginning to wean my son off of meat. It is difficult when my husband wants him to eat meat and my family feeds him meat on a regular basis. Mom on the otherhand feeds him vegan foods only so that he will have the opportunity to be exposed to both and make his own decisions someday. We have begun having discussions about where meat comes from. He keeps asking why people kill cows to get meat. I tell him because they don’t care about where their food comes from. My husband had some frozen hamburgers in the freezer and my son kept saying “ooh, there’s dead cow in our freezer.” Hopefully he will continue to make the association between animals and the food on his plate.

Okay, so that is my big catchup from last week. Hope everyone is having a great monday.

I just got done reading an interesting article in StarNewsOnline entitled “The Whole Family Can Benefit When One Member Decides to Go Meatless.” There were many pros and cons to this article. Pro–acknowledges that vegetarians are healthier and live longer than omni’s. Con–makes a big stink about who difficult it is to get all of our nutrients. Hmmm, seems a bit contradictory, if we are healthier and live longer than why are we the one’s that need to be careful with supplimentation and ensuring we get all of our vitamins? Pro–provides tips on how the whole family can support the vegetarian member and points out the vegetarian food is not the strange bland diet of the past, but a diet rich in great flavors. Con–keeps using unhealthy vegetarian food as the argument for healthy food tasting good, such as macaroni and cheese, pizza, and describes a vegan diet as more problematic for the family. I think it was sad that all of the nutritional benefits of a vegan and vegetarian diet weren’t pointed out. It didn’t really describe how everyone could benefit from adopting a plant-based diet at least part of the time. I was also disappointed that they pushed dairy products a good source of protein, calcium, iron, etc., being that most nutritionists are now admitting that dairy is not a good source of any of these vitamins and minerals. As a whole, I am not sure if the article was helpful or harmful to the promotion of a vegetarian diet.

Okay, I made a great apple pie last night. I was so light and delicious and there is nothing left of it this morning. Good for me. One of my oldest and dearest friends came to dinner last night. It has been about 1 1/2 since I have seen her and I wanted to make something special for her, so I made hummus with pita, spinach pie, cream of potato soup, lemonade and apple pie. It was definitely a feast and I have lot’s of wonderful leftovers (which is the best part). I was so happy to see my friend Nikki. We have been through so much together over the years. We met in high school and have remained in contact ever since, even though both of us have moved all over the place. She moved to Costa Rica last year for 3 weeks. The shortest move ever I think.

Anyway, here are the recipes.

Here is the recipe for my apple pie:

6 apples
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
2 tbsp vegan butter spread
6 sheets of phyllo dough

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel apples and cut into slices. Melt butter spread in a saucepan and add maple syrup and cinnamon and mix. Add apples and cook until they begin to soften slightly. Layout phyllo pastry, one sheet at a time. Brush pastry with sauce that apples were cooked in. Lay sheet in a pie dish and brush next sheet and lay it at an angle on top of the other. Keep layering until all layers have been brushed with butter sauce and layered in pan. Pour apples and raisins on top of phyllo. Fold phyllo edges on top of apples and place in the oven. Cook for about 25-30 minutes. Until phyllo becomes crispy and golden brown.

I think I have posted on spinach pie before, but can’t seem to find the link, so here is the recipe:

2 packages of frozen spinach thawed
1 large or two medium yellow onions, cut into thin slices
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp Arabic Seven Spice
6 sheets phyllo pastry

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat olive oil in a pan and add sliced onions and Arabic Seven Spice. Saute for about 5 minutes and add spinach. Cook for about 5 minutes. Lay out phyllo sheets, one sheet at ta time and brush with olive oil. Place each sheet in a pie dish, each one at an angle to the other. Put spinach mixture on top of the phyllo and then cover mixture with the edges of the phyllo sheets. Place in the oven and cook for about 25-30, until the phyllo is crispy and golden brown.

It’s Friday, or as I like to call it recipe day. Today’s recipe is one of my husband’s absolute favorites. It is always a big hit and even my mom liked it, so you know it’s good.

Southwestern Black Bean Soup

1 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 yellow or orange bell pepper
2 jalapenos (if you like your food really spicy add three)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tomato
4 cans black beans
2 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1 can organic tomato sauce
3 cups organic vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste

In a stockpot or large soup pot sauté onion, garlic, bell pepper and jalapenos in olive oil. When onions begin to become translucent add tomato. Drain two cans of the black beans and add to the pot. Mash up the other two cans of black beans and add to the pot. Add tomato sauce, vegetable broth, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and cook for about ½ hour.

I still haven’t been able to remember what I wanted to blog about yesterday. It came to me once yesterday when I was driving, but of course I forget it again by the time I got home. I will have to carry a pen and paper with me this weekend so that as soon as I remember I can write it down.

I have a couple of things to discuss today. I don’t know whether to start with the good or the bad, though I typically like to get the bad out of the way and end on a positive note. The bad news is my dad got the results of his biopsy back and he has prostate cancer. The good news is that it is contained in the prostate and is only moderately aggressive, making him a great candidate for surgery. Though prostate cancer is not often life threatening and most people die from other causes before the cancer grows, approximately 29,000 men die each year from prostate cancer. It is one of the most treatable cancers though and my dad is considered young (60, average age for prostate cancer diagnosis 71) and should make it through treatment with relatively few side effects. I have read some interesting studies that show that a vegan diet can decrease prostate cancer after one year and animal fat has been found to be a major contributor to prostate cancer. Unfortunately, I don’t see my dad giving up milk anytime soon.

On to the good news. My dh is giving up dairy products, though still occasionally consumes meat. I take whatever I can get, one step at a time. We were talking about all the lies of the dairy companies and how disgusting and unhealthy milk is and later that night my dh stated that he just couldn’t consume dairy anymore knowing how disgusting and unhealthy it is. Hip hip hurray!

Okay I actually had one other thing to blog about, but the minute I sat down to blog I forgot what it was. If I remember later I will write another post.

Midweek Munchies: What Cindy is contributing for the week Grocery Store: Apple Juice Mango Juice Frozen Strawberries Rice Milk Bananas Tomato Sauce Black Beans Onions Corn Tortillas Tortilla Chips Vegetable Broth Vegan Boca Burgers Vegan pepperjack cheese slices Whole Grain Hamburger Buns Health Food Store: Tofutti Sour Cream Garden: Onions Tomatoes Zucchini Basil Oregano Links to other Midweek Munchies (If you participate, leave your link in the comments and I’ll post it below; or, you can post in the comments)

Click here for the Midweek Munchies code
Click here for Harmonia’s blog

Trackbacks, pings, and comment links are accepted and encouraged!
Technorati Tag: Midweek Munchies

A special thanks to Running2Ks and Rift for all of their help with coding, graphics, and encouragement for this project.

PURPOSE of Midweek Munchies: Put together by a small group of Veg Women, we hope to spread the word about healthy vegetarianism while obtaining idea starters for meals, recipes, learn about new products, and meet other female veg*n bloggers. Visiting and commenting on other participants lists are encouraged but not required. Have fun and Go Veg!

I made the best breakfast yesterday. I am actually still trying to decide if it is more of a breakfast or a dessert, the flavor was so good.

Any I call it Hot Banana Rice

2 cups water
1 cup brown basmati rice
1 banana
1 small package raisins
1 tbsp vegan butter spread
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 cup any type of raw nuts (preferably almond or cashews, but mixed nuts would also work)
1/8 cup rice milk
Bring water to a boil and add brown rice, cook according to package (about 45 minutes). In a stainless steel skillet melt better and add raw nuts and saute for about 3-4 minutes, add cinnamon and maple syrup and saute 1-2 minutes more. Add bananas and raisins and saute for about 2-3 minutes. Turn off heat and add rice milk. Mix in well. Stir rice into banana mixture and serve warm.

What is everyone’s opinion? Should it be listed as a breakfast or a dessert?