Success!

Today I had a wonderful lunch with my Dad at a local Mexican restaurant. I ALWAYS get the beef chimi! But today, before we even got together, I remembered my mess up from yesterday and decided to try my hand at ordering something without meat. And I am so glad I did. Not only did I stay true to what I'm trying to do, I also got to try some amazing new dishes that I would otherwise have missed out on just because, "I just have to have a beef chimi". It felt good to be aware, go into a restaurant, make a decision that kept me true to what I really want to do, enjoy every bite, and feel that much stronger. Oh, and for what it's worth, chili rellenos at Jalapeno's in Sandpoint, ID are amazing!

I guess tonight the emphasis was on Flexi....

Took Garrett to dinner after his baseball game tonight. I ordered broccoli soup and salad while he ordered a bacon burger and fries. I did great until I just couldn't take it anymore and had to have some of his burger. It was deelish! Got me to thinking about what my motivations are for wanting to go veg. I figure there are only just a few main motivations that people have. Moral/religious, health, and environmental were the three main reasons I could think of. Personally, about 90% of my motivation comes from health reasons and the other 10% from moral/religious reasons. Having some burger tonight tasted great and I'm glad I had it. However, I also feel like I dropped the ball a little bit because of our new resolve to go veg for this 28 day challenge. I guess I blew it! Oh well, cest la vie! I believe in failing fast and getting back in the saddle. So, I had some burger, it tasted great, but I'm still into the veg thing because I honestly feel healthier and happier when I eat that way. I won't be able to claim 100% compliance, but I'm okay with it because I'm only human. Ain't it great?

Quick and Tasty Lunch

You know how some days you just need something quick and easy for lunch? Well, that was today. Right after taking Garrett to school I went on a 3 mile run. When I got back, Jeff said he was just getting ready to go on a bike ride. At first I wasn't going to go (I have plenty of other stuff that needs doing!). But after eating a banana and piece of wheat toast (I hadn't eaten before my run), and resting for about 10 minutes, I decided to join Jeff. It was a great ride across the Long Bridge and back, about 11 miles. Into a stiff wind there, and wind at our back coming home (thank goodness, because that is the up hill way!).

So, HUNGAR! Something that is great to have on hand are whole grain or multi-grain sandwich thins. We toasted them slightly, then topped them with left over tomato sauce or Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto (great to have in hand, adds great flavor). Then top with whatever veggies you want and a little cheese (yes, it is like a mini pizza). Broil for a couple of minutes, and then eat. VERY YUMMY! So much so, that we didn't stop to take a picture.

One Week Down!

Well, it was one week yesterday since our family started on this little adventure, and it is going quite well! Speaking only for myself, I have not had any meat since we started, and I am not missing it AT ALL! I am excited about the change, and look forward to many of the benefits that eating this way can bring about. I know I haven't written about any of them yet, but I will get to it eventually. We tried so many new recipes last week that time just didn't permit much else. But this is a long term endeavor, so no worries!

The kids have been great, and very supportive. Though they are drastically cutting back on their meat consumption, they are not removing it completely from their diet. They are all old enough that they can (and should) make their own decisions in this type of matter (like you could force this on any teenager!). They have all enjoyed trying the new dishes, and been very willing - there have been no complaints or threats of mutiny. I think they are amused that we photograph all new dishes, and take it as a personal challenge to come up with an original quote when expressing their opinions on a meal.

I look forward to the upcoming week, it will be fun to see what we try. Though like any normal household, tonight we ate leftovers!

Homemade Pizza!

Friday night we decided to have pizza, and with so many veggies in the fridge, what better than to make our own? Though I have made pizza crust out of my wheat bread recipe, I decided to go with a traditional white crust.

Pizza Dough

• 2-3/4  -  3-1/4 C flour
• 1 package (1 T.) dry yeast
• 1 C. warm water
• 2 T. cooking oil
• 1/4 t. salt

Combine 1-1/4 C. flour with yeast and salt, add water and salt. Beat with electric beater on low for 30 seconds, constantly scraping the bowl. Then continue  beating on high speed for 3 minutes. Slowly stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead in as much remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6 - 8 minutes total). Divide in half and let rest 10 minutes.

From here you can roll the dough out for a thin crust, or just stretch it out to bake on a stone (follow the directions for your baking stone), or you can spread in a greased pan for a thicker crust pan pizza.

Pizza Sauce

• 15-ounce can tomato sauce
• Tomato, diced (optional, or small can petite diced tomatoes)
• 1/2 C. diced onion
• 1 T. basil
• 1 t. sugar
• 1 t. oregano
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 t. pepper

Combine all in a sauce pan over medium high heat, bring to a boil, reduce to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Now it is ready to use!

Spread sauce on dough, either store bought or homemade.

Now comes the fun part! Like any home pizza making endeavor, pull out of your fridge anything that sounds good and use it as topping on your pizza. We used sweet peppers (green, red, yellow and orange), red onions, green onions, mushrooms, spinach, zucchini, sun dried tomatoes, and some artichoke hearts. Later we realized we had forgotten the pineapple. Oh, well, there will be a next time! We did not have any mozzarella cheese, so we used cheddar, queso fresco and a little feta.

Place pizza in an oven preheated to 400℉, and bake for 10 - 20 minutes. Just check regularly for doneness, especially the dough in the center of the pizza. The thickness of the dough and the amount of toppings can affect the cooking time.

We baked two pizzas, the first one had better flavor, but was baked a bit too long. The crust on the 2nd pizza was cooked to perfection, but had fewer ingredients. Overall it was a huge success, the kids enjoyed the vegetarian pizza as much as the adults, plus we all had a lot of fun making them as a family. The toppings the kids were unsure of, they simply omitted from the second pizza.

Potential as a family favorite for ANY family because you can make it any way you like it!

BBQ Veggies & Greek Lentil Salad

So many colors means a wide variety of nutrients!

There was a variety of new things on this plate for us. The corn, potatoes, bell peppers and onions were all done the on the BBQ. I will mention how down below, as well as the basics for the spinach salad. The bread is home made whole wheat bread (some day soon I will give the recipe), and the funny looking brown stuff between the corn and the bell peppers is a lentil salad. Since that was the real new NEW thing in the meal, I will start with it.

Greek Lentil Salad

Try this salad as a take-along lunch or a light dinner. Unlike most dried beans, lentils don’t need to be soaked before cooking, but they still offer all the same protein and fiber benefits.

Serves 4 (or more like 8 smaller servings ;-)

• 1 cup French green lentils, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 small onion
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 large shallot, finely chopped (1/4 cup)
• 2 Tbs. lemon juice
• 1 small cucumber, diced (1 cup)
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced (1 cup)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

1. Place lentils, onion, bay leaves, and 6 cups water in large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 25 to 30 minutes, or until lentils are tender. Drain, remove onion and bay leaves, and cool.
2. Stir together shallot and lemon juice in large bowl. Add lentils, cucumber, tomatoes, mint, and oil; stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Chill 1 hour, or overnight. Serve topped with feta.

Per Serving (1 Cup): 228 calories, 12g protein, 7g total fat (2g sat. fat), 33g carbs, 8mg cholesterol, 116 mg sodium, 8g fiber, 4g sugars

Recipe from Vegetarian Times magazine, June 2011, pg. 61.

Notes: I don't know how you would possibly eat a whole cup of this! But maybe that is because I have only had lentils a few times before, and that was in soup!

Our Opinions

Erika - Before even tasting it: "The thing about this salad is the way it looks - weird!"
After tasting it: "The texture is mushy and grainy. It is like baby food that is not quite processed all the way. I don't really care for it." (a nice way of saying - I don't like it!)

1-1/2 stars out of 5 (I think she was trying to be kind)

William - "Didn't like it at all"

1 out of 5 stars

Jeff - I really liked the fresh mint (fresh mint & rosemary compliments of Jeff's mom's garden - so it was REALLY fresh!) and the tomatoes. "I think I overcooked the lentils, because they were a bit mushy". Mainly Jeff said he was glad to try something totally new. Especially since he had never had lentils in a salad before, and considering that he does not like cucumbers.

2 out of 5 stars

Michelle - The flavor was rather fresh, especially compared to everything else on the plate. The texture is a bit of a problem. I will eat more of this salad, probably for lunch tomorrow. Maybe sitting overnight will improve the salad over all.

2 out of 5 stars

Garrett was gone for this meal. Maybe I will save some for him to try when he gets home tomorrow!

Overall Opinion -  Jeff and I will eat a bit more, but I doubt we will eat it all. This is one dish we will not make again!

Average Rating: 1.6 out of 5 stars

Now THAT is out of the way, the rest of the meal was great! Plus, it was easy to make.

Corn on the Cob with Basil-Parmesan Butter

• 1/4 C. softened butter
• 1/4 C. freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 2 T. finely chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/4 t. black pepper
• 1/4 t. granulated garlic
• 4 ears corn, husked

1. Mix everything together (except corn ;-).
2. Rub about 1 T. of seasoned butter mixture into corn.
3. Grill over Direct Medium heat until tender and browned in spots, about 10 - 15 minutes, turning occasionally. 
4. Serve warm with the remaining butter spread on the corn.

Notes - I did 5 ears of corn, and used a bit less butter, plus I had plenty of butter left over that I tossed. BUT, we have raised our kids using hardly any butter (they don't put it on toast, pancakes, rolls, potatoes - just because that is how they have grown up). We normally only salt and pepper our corn, so BBQ-ing the corn with seasoned butter was novel - and none of us added any more butter when it was served.

Our Opinion

To keep it quick, let me just say, everyone thought the corn was delicious! It drew the movie quote - and joke around the dinner table of: "This corn is an angel".

Grill Roasted New Potatoes

The short of it is, cut up however many small red potatoes you need (based upon how many people you are feeding) into quarters. For about 6 potatoes, combine 2 T. olive oil, 2 t. fresh rosemary, 1/2 t. salt, and 1/2 t. pepper. Toss the potatoes in the oil mixture. Grill over direct medium heat for 15 - 20 minutes, turning about every 5 minutes.

Our Opinion

Everyone really liked the potatoes, they were a big hit!

Spinach Salad

I love fixing spinach salads, because they are so quick! Almost no prep time involved. For this salad I used fresh spinach with mandarin oranges, feta cheese, walnuts, and dried cranberries. I drizzled a little fat free poppyseed dressing over the top and tossed it all together.

Our Opinion

Everyone liked the salad a lot. Erika is my non-salad eater (though she is getting better - she always has a little!), but she does prefer salads with fruit. She said she liked this salad, but would prefer it without the dressing.


Overall opinion of the meal (not including the lentil salad since that was a flop): 4 out of 5 stars


Whew! Time for bed!

Vegetable Quesadillas

Professional plating by Jeff! Nice touch with the celery leaves for extra color!

Serves 8

• 1 c. Sliced mushrooms
• 1 T. light olive oil
• 1 small zucchini, chopped
• 1/2 c. chopped yellow bell pepper
• 1/2 c. sliced green onions
• 1 medium clove galic, minced
• 1 jalapeño, diced
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 8 (8-inch) flour tortillas
• 2-1/2 c. shredded Mexican cheese blend

1. In a non-stick skillet, brown mushrooms in olive oil. Add zucchini, bell pepper, green onions, garlic, and jalapeño. Cook until vegetables are tender, stir occasionally. Stir in tomato, cook 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and keep warm.
2. Over medium heat, warm tortilla till lightly browned, turn over and sprinkle one half of tortilla with 1/3 c. cheese and 1/4 c. of the vegetable mixture. Fold tortilla in half. Cook until browned on both sides and cheese is melted. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling

Per Serving (1 tortilla with filling): 325 calories, 31g carbs, 13g protein, 17g fat, 2g fiber, 31mg cholesterol, 488mg sodium.


Notes: Most of the fat from this recipe comes from the cheese, and we could tell by just looking at the recipe that it was more cheese than we wanted. We used about half the cheese, and that worked great.


We did not have any jalapeños, so we put in chopped green chilis. They were a great option, but cut back on the spiciness of the dish.

Our Opinion

Jeff and I were the only ones home for lunch (benefit of working at home), and we both really liked these quesadillas. We were really glad that we cut the cheese in half! We served the quesadillas with sliced apples and banana chunks. We will definitely have these again - next time with the kids so we can get their thoughts on this healthier version of a family favorite!