Vegan Burritos

Yum

Miracle Seed?

Chia.... we will see! ;)

Still here!!

I've had quite the adventure... I was having a lot of pain issues.... read more here:
http://steffenfamilyadventures.blogspot.com/2012/03/mommy-adventure.html

I've stayed on the bandwagon and have eaten way less meat and way more veggies.

Veggie Pizza

Yum.

Leftover Fun

Made tacos from last night's leftovers.
So. Good.

Orange juice

Fresh. Delish.

Enchilada Casserole

Boil rotini noodles.
Sauté peppers (one yellow, orange, red bell and one jalepeno) with one onion in olive oil.
Add 1 can black beans and noodles to peppers/onion. Mix.
Add ~1cup enchilada sauce (store bought or homemade) and 1 packet taco mix. Mix.
Pour in 9x13.
Top w a sprinkle of cheese. (cheddar vegetarian or regular if you don't want vegan)
Bake at 350 until cheese melts.

Serve w your choice of toppings.
Salsa
Sour cream
Crushed tortilla chips
Green onion
Tomatoes
Guacamole/avocado

Delish!!!!!!!!!

Granny Smith

Delicious. 100% apple juice.

Pumpkin Curry Soup

Yum.

Fun Fact

There are only 3 species on the planet struggling with weight. Name them!

Mean Green Juice

My first green juice. One word: disgusting. I am NOT a Ginger person. I made it later in the week sans Ginger. Much better!!!!!

Easy Pad Thai

Prepare rice noodles by following directions on package.

Chop 3 scallions. Separate white and green. Throw ends in compost.

Sauté white part w 1 clove garlic.
Scramble some eggs (maybe 4ish) and cook in same pan as scallions/garlic.
Once cooked through take out set in bowl aside.

Put prepared rice noodles in pan you cooked egg/ scallion/ garlic.

Mix sauce:
2Tbsp brown sugar
2Tbsp lime juice
3Tbsp soy sauce
Squirt sriracha sauce. Adjust according to your like for spice/heat.

Poor over noodles. Cook over med heat. Add egg mixture, scallion pieces (green part), bean sprouts, and whatever else you want.

Top w chopped peanuts and chopped cilantro.

Eat. Yum.

Sweet Potato Enchiladas

Holy Moly!!! Another killer recipe. This blog is definitely my favorite so far to get recipes from.

http://ohsheglows.com/2011/05/04/vegan-enchiladas-with-cilantro-avocado-cream-sauce-2/

5 out of 5
Super healthy. Super tasty.

Buffalo Tofu Salad

It was pretty good. Not vegan.

Leftovers

Last night I used the leftover "meat" to make beanballs. I baked them instead of in a pan. Results? Dry. I don't recommend baking them. I ate mine. Brian ate half of his. That says something! We used Brian's homemade marinara sauce. Delish.

Black Bean Vegan Burger

There's nothing quite like a hamburger. Craving summertime, I used this burger recipe to create tonight's dinner.

Another winner. It was delish. Full of flavor.

Easily five outta five stars. I had a bunch of leftover "meat" so I will be using it tomorrow for my beanballs. I can't WAIT!

I was going to make homemade whole wheat buns but got lazy. I actually made whole wheat bread last night and garlic herb bread today. So, we decided on openface burgers. I chose the herb bread and ate less then half of the piece pictured. I was stuffed. What a satisfying meal.

I made (not vegan) parmesan pepper fries on the side. I kinda just made it up as I went.
3-4 potatoes.
wash. cut into fries.
put into gallon ziplock bag.
sprinkle some parm. into bag. -- eyeball it
grind some pepper into bag. --eyeball it
shake! shake! shake!
dump onto stoneware.
bake at 475* until they look done.

ENJOY and let me know if you make it!!

Spinach

I desperately need to go grocery shopping! I made bread this am and have been dying to try it! It is garlic Italian herb and is delish. So, I cut a little piece, put it in a bowl, layered a huge handful of spinach, and drizzled homemade balsamic vinaigrette. Super yum.

Sorry cell phone pic again.

Creamy Avocado Pasta

I am a sucker for a rich, creamy alfredo. So, when I saw this recipe I HAD to try it. Combining two of my favorites: avocado and lemon.

Three words come to mind: oh. my. gosh.

You MUST try this.

I put in a little more lemon juice than it calls for. I used cilantro in place of parsley bc it's what I had on hand. I just used spaghetti. If you don't love garlic, use less.

We had broccoli on the side.

Total cost: $2.50 (I had all ingredients except the avocado and lemon)

Five out of five!!

This photo is from my phone. It was devoured too fast to get the real camera out. So the color/ quality is off.

The best part?? BOTH boys asked for seconds. I'm loving the fact my boys eat whatever I put in front of them.

Ras.pea.ach.ot

Ingredients:
couple frozen raspberries
peaches
ice
handful spinach
1 carrot

Result: Super Yum

Salads

Dinner was a nice salad. Well, actually 2 small ones. Salads are a great week- rounder outer (Yes, I just made up my own words). It's a great way to use up leftover veggies from the week. I think this will start being my go to weekend meal. :)

One was dark greens, celery, carrot, cucumber, boca chicken (smothered in frank's hot sauce), and a little light ranch dressing.

Two was was dark greens, carrot, broccoli, red pepper, green pepper, bean sprout, cucumber, tomatoes with a homemade balsalmic vinaigrette.

Dressing recipe:

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar, optional*
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic (I used 1 clove, in press)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (just 1/2 turn of the mill of sea salt is what i used)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (i just used the mill and eyeballed it)
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 
  

Mix vinegar and sugar (if using) until sugar dissolves. Add vinegar mix, garlic, salt, pepper, and oil to shaker. Shake until well blended.

If not using it right away, cover and refrigerate, whisking or shaking again before use.

*If using a good quality vinegar you should not need the sugar, but if using a lesser quality you might want the sugar to round out the dressing.

(forgot to take photo..whoops)

Emril, This dressing ROCKS. 5 outta 5 stars for sure.

lunch

Last night for dinner, I made a recipe off pinterest. And had the leftovers for lunch today.

Red Curry Noodles (Vegan)

It's basically coconut milk, garlic, and red curry soup with rice noodles.

The veggies I used in this recipe are:
mung bean sprout
broccoli
red pepper
onion
snow pea

I also added some tofu. First time ever having tofu.

I'd have to give this 3 outta 5 stars. Not my favorite but it was good.

it's easy being green

This morning's breakfast was a "Green" smoothie. I'm not sure why mine always looks more brownish.

Ingredients:
handful of peaches, raspberries,and spinach
I opted for ice-less this morning
Served in a wine glass, just for fun.

The Start:

My first instinct is to tell you "Oh, I've always been fat". In all honesty that's probably the best coping mechanism any one person can have. We all know, that can't possibly be true.

I remember being a young girl- probably in about second or third grade- and watching myself get fatter and fatter. It seemed like it was out of my control. I loved food. I always had. I always will. I could blame my poor eating habits on my parent's low income or on being an emotional or bored eater. BUT I'm not going to sit here and make excuses for myself.

My problem isn't losing weight. My problem is lacking motivation. I've always lacked the motivation to do something about it.

Today while driving, I had a revelation. I asked myself "Are you happy?" and I realized that there are a lot of things in this world I can't control-- things that will undoubtly make me unhappy. However, how I look and feel I can control and I can he happy with that.

The main goal of this journey isn't to lose weight. It's to feel better. When I feel better, I'll naturally look better and lose weight.


If any of these sound like you... join me and let's take one step at a time together- from vegging to veggies.

(.... read more on tab above "The Start:")