Tried Spicy Bean Mushroom & Avocado Quesadilla. These were pretty good but keep in mind it is actually a few recipes combined. There's a bean recipe, a mushroom recipe, and a sauce recipe (which I didn't make and was fine without), and then a recipe to combine it all together :) They were spicy and I even cut the spice back. I used the corn tortillas (because I already had them) and made two smaller ones and baked in the oven instead of frying. I ended up with extra beans and mushrooms leftover as well.
Heading into week 3 of eating mainly vegan and gluten-free meals. So far so good :) Tried Spicy Bean Mushroom & Avocado Quesadilla. These were pretty good but keep in mind it is actually a few recipes combined. There's a bean recipe, a mushroom recipe, and a sauce recipe (which I didn't make and was fine without), and then a recipe to combine it all together :) They were spicy and I even cut the spice back. I used the corn tortillas (because I already had them) and made two smaller ones and baked in the oven instead of frying. I ended up with extra beans and mushrooms leftover as well. The extra beans and mushroom were used later for a lunch; they topped a baked potato and I added some vegan cheese. This was delicious, would recommend that again for sure :) Today I made a veggie stir-fry on top of rice vermicelli. It was really tasty but needed something for protein I think. No recipe, just used what I had. I used garlic olive oil, carrot, red onion, celery, yellow pepper, mushrooms, water chestnuts, bean sprouts, green onion, tamari sauce, rice noodles, and topped with hemp seeds and a little sea salt.
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I've been seeing lots of positive comments lately regarding a hot dog food truck. Decided to give it a try today after noticing they had vegan options and they were nice enough to save me a gluten-free bun (they had a couple to try out today). Gluten-free hot dog buns may be added to the menu but they will cost extra, it's worth it to me. The dogs are as good as vegan dogs get ;) they also have regular hot dogs for all the non-vegans :) What I really liked was you get a choice of topping so not just a plain dog (although you can get a Plain Jane if you so desire); they have chili and cheese, pizza, and nut and cranberry along with all the regular condiments. I had the chili and Hubby had the pizza; both were good. What was phenomenal though were their fries. OMG! Go to Wannie's Dogs just for the fries. I went back on the way home and had more fries :)
Almost two weeks of trying to eliminate meats, diary, and gluten from my diet and I am feeling better in some areas already. Enough so to keep going and see where it takes me.
Friends contacted me this week to get together for lunch. I will admit my initial reaction was to say no because it would be (I thought) more difficult to order vegan and gluten-free at this particular restaurant; Dragon 88. Then I thought, "No, I will not let food rule my life". Yay me! I have spent too many years dieting and letting food have way too much control over what I do and how I feel. I have spent the last several months on a complete non-diet and trying to fix the damage my years of dieting have caused. After agreeing to lunch my second thought was to say screw it and order what I always order at this restaurant, foods loaded with eat and gluten and some deep-fried to boot. I thought about this but then thought how bad I would likely feel after eating it and also the next day. Instead I checked out their menu and found some options that sounded great and allowed me to stay gluten-free and vegan. Keep in mind, there was a language barrier so it was a little harder to get my wants across. I ended up with a delicious rice and rice noodle dish that the cook made for me. It was very tasty, but I did notice when I was almost finished there was egg in my fried rice :( Not a huge deal as I don't think that small amount will be a problem. A week and a half and I'm still eating vegan along with gluten-free. I will admit it hasn't been overly easy. I'm still trying to get the hang of it and still struggle with many things. Such as finding both vegan and gluten-free items. Eating margarine over butter. I also miss milk and cheese greatly. For now, I am trying to stay completely vegan and gluten-free because I have noticed several health improvements just over this short time. I may start introducing other foods back in at a later date to see if they are problematic but right now I'm good. I have been trying different recipes, some have been good and others not so great but I've yet to find something that I love. Maybe I'm thinking about it too much and trying recipes that are too far out of my comfort zone right now. Tonight's supper was one of the best vegan meals I've had so far, cooked by myself at home, and it was really basic. I had a veggie burger (just the patty) topped with vegan cheese, tomatoes, avocado, and baked potato with vegan margarine and chives. This was all delicious and very satisfying. My kind of meal; tasty and simple :) The vegan cheese I bought on recommendation as being one of the best tasting brands. It's ok to me but probably won't bother with it again; just trying to use up the package now. I did try cashew cheese as well and that is excellent, so tasty. The burger was really nice as well. I fried it so it got a little crispy. It had a really nice taste and texture, no trouble eating those again :)
Another great meal at EVOO but this time I tried their vegan menu and had gluten-free as well :) They have a couple of choice for vegan pizza and vegan pasta, all of which can be done gluten-free if needed. Sometimes they have gluten-free bread as well, they didn't last night so I didn't get the Bruschetta app. I tried the Rime Balsamic Pizza which was delicious. It had cashew cheese in place of dairy cheese; my first time ever having it, and it was really good. Great taste and texture on pizza, never know there was no actual dairy on it. The gluten-free crust left a little to be desired but I was just happy to find a great tasting pizza that was both vegan and gluten-free :) Plan to get this one again :)
Tried another new vegan recipe today, Glowing Moroccan Vegetable Stew, and was pleasantly surprised. Both, myself and Hubby, enjoyed this :) I tweaked the recipe a little, but only a little, to make it a little more IBS friendly (lower FODMAP). I used garlic olive oil instead of regular olive oil and then didn't add any garlic. I used a bunch of green onion (green part only) in place of the onion. Tweaks I made for personal preference or just what I happened to have on hand were: I used chili powder in place of cumin, I used only half the cayenne pepper, and I topped with hemp instead of nuts and cilantro. I was surprised at how good this was as I am not usually one for this flavor profile. I wanted to try something different, and glad I did. Served it with basmati rice.
I am still really new to the vegan way of eating, but I think next time I will add some chickpeas to up the protein a little. Had a good day overall. Had homemade granola for breakfast with strawberries, banana, hemp, chia, and almond milk. (To make the granola completely vegan I subbed maple syrup for the honey and coconut oil for the butter; substitutions I always made due to personal preference in the past). Lunch was leftover soup from yesterday (nicer pic today) along with some quinoa drizzled with lemon olive oil. Meals still not planned out as well as they should be. Also found some great vegan ice cream bars; these are delicious :) So, I am still playing around with the food I eat to see if I can get any health improvements that will stick. I am coming to the realization that everyone is different and what foods and diet works for one person may not work for another. Many people do well with diets such as Wheat Belly, Paleo, or low carb but I don't seem to. So still trying and not giving up. Tried two new recipes today: Creamy Vegan Corn and Red Pepper Blender Soup and Avocado Strawberry Caprese. First, I'll talk about the soup. I enjoyed it but Hubby didn't at all, but he isn't a big fan of blended soups. This recipe is easy and there is no cooking involved; great for those hot days like today. You blend everything together in a good blender (I used my Vitamix). The soup can be served hot or cold. I ate mine cold and it was tasty. If you blend long enough in the Vitamix (a few minutes) it will warm up and get hot, or you can microwave it to heat it, if desired. The second new recipe was a salad. Again, another great recipe for a hot day but you do have to heat and reduce some balsamic vinegar on the stove-top. This was a very nice recipe as well, and even better using fresh, local strawberries :) The only change I would make is probably a little less balsamic vinegar. I simmered for 9 minutes but still found it could have been reduced even further or I could have simply used less as it seemed slightly too much for the amount of salad. I am playing around with a vegan diet, along with gluten free and soy free (or limited as much as possible) to see if my health issues improve. The only diet I found to help at all was a full elimination diet, but that didn't help with my digestion issues. I wonder if the meat may be causing issues with my digestion. I believe dairy is a major problem for me even though I love it so. I also believe gluten is not my friend :( We shall see how this works for now.
I also want to add this is not a diet for weight loss. I have said this in the past and if I am being truthful it has usually been a lie. I've always weighed and used the loss or gain as a huge factor of diet success. No weighing now, at all. I just need to feel better. Tried another new recipe today, and like a couple of days ago, I'm thinking I may be nuts cooking in the heat. Hubby says it's not that hot but it's humid and I was pretty much drippy in the kitchen. Nice picture hey? Believe me, you do not want a pic of that. so I won't post it :) Anyway, I did make Turkey Taco Burrito Bowls today and they were pretty good. I also, almost, made the recipe exactly as is. Haahaaaa :) I used ground chicken instead of turkey, just seasoned with salt & pepper (not nearly as much as listed), used extra chili powder instead of the cumin, and didn't simmer for as long as suggested (but only because I was hungry and everything else was ready. I would suggest simmer for the 15 minutes as ours was more like a thick chili consistency, but still good). I topped with mixed greens, tomatoes, salsa, avocado, and there's some white cheddar in there as well. Can't really see the taco mix and rice but it's under there, you can see it all in the second pic, after I've eaten most of it :)
For dinner tonight I planned to try a new pork recipe along with mashed potatoes and veggie. I was really looking forward to this meal but started to regret it since it was so hot and humid today, especially in my kitchen. Glad, I made it though; it was delicious. A definite keeper :) I made Savory Stuffed Pork Chops (well sort of, if you know me, I made some tweaks) along with mashed potatoes and broccolini. The changes I made to the pork recipe: 1. I used a pork tenderloin (because it's what I had) and cut it into 3 pieces. I sliced them open and stuffed them just like you would the chops. 2. I didn't use the sugar at all, instead I used a date (diced) but probably could have used 2 or 3 dates. 3. I used regular sea salt instead of seasoning salt. That wasn't bad for changes for me :) So, I guess I made Savory Stuffed Pork Tenderloin but same same :) There wasn't any au jus for serving, my fault. I had the pork done before the potatoes so by the time everything was ready the au jus was cooked off :(
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AuthorMy name is Michelle and I am tired of struggling with my weight. I am stopping the struggle. Archives
September 2020
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