A Foray Into Vegetarianism - Photos & Recipes!

What a lovely response to my blog yesterday about the documentary, "Forks Over Knives", and Mr. T's & my decision to change our eating style to a plant-based, whole foods mentality!

Since yesterday, I have learned (for those interested) that, if you go to the Forks Over Knives website ( www.forksoverknives.com/ ), you can find out where you can watch the film online. I believe it's $9.99 to buy it on iTunes and $3.99 to watch on Amazon. Of course, the best way is to watch it FREE on Netflix. But not everyone has that option! You can also view the trailer there, get 12 pages of awesome veggie recipes, and read all sorts of cool testimonials about people whose lives have changed as a result of switching to this way of eating.

I thought it might be fun for you to see how we are starting off...in picture form. No one starts off really wonderfully, but I think we've been eating pretty well this past week...and, lucky for you, I snapped a few photos AND I've included recipes!

Hint: My honey uses a website for most of the gourmet-esque meals he makes me and I don't think he's ever made anything that wasn't delicious when he used this site. It's food52.com/recipes . He's been using this one for years...so it's not strictly vegetarian. It has all sorts of stuff! And it's all delicious!

First vegetarian meal (cooked by my darling) was AMAZING!
It was Tarragon Lemon Summer Squash Soup & Sauteed Corn, Green Onions, and Shiitake Mushrooms



A lot of interesting flavors here!

In the soup, he substituted coconut milk (in the can) for the cream and used vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. It was exquisite and really yummy the next day for lunch!
Recipe here: food52.com/recipes/22700
-tarragon-lemon-summer-squ
ash-soup

In the corn, I was surprised to find that the mushrooms were very "meaty" and mimicked the texture and flavor of beef!
Recipe here: food52.com/recipes/6285-
sauteed-corn-green-onions-
and-shiitake-mushrooms

My love's next attempt at a lovely vegetarian dinner was a Spark Recipe - SP_Stepf's Technicolor Pasta! :)
Recipe here: recipes.sparkpeople.com/
recipe-detail.asp?recipe=3
10240



We actually didn't use whole wheat pasta. We like Barilla Plus (in the yellow box), which has added protein and it gives a whopping 17g protein per serving. We had kale on hand, so we used that instead of chard (even though I love chard more than kale!) We substituted white onions b/c that's what we had at home. Instead of feta, we just used a sprinkle of parmesan on top.

And lest you think we only eat gourmet all the time, here is my "sad desk lunch" from yesterday (except, it wasn't that sad because it was DELICIOUS! And filling!)



Here's something interesting. In the documentary, they talked about how, after going meat and processed food and dairy free, they could now REALLY taste all their food. I felt that way yesterday with this very small, but flavor-packed lunch. Fruit has never been so sweet and vegetables so powerfully delicious. I do believe my body is starting to crave it.

Another great side effect is that I am coming in exactly on track with my daily calorie numbers, according to the food tracker. Hence, the rapid weight loss.

So, I know this change in eating patterns does worry some people...especially in terms of PROTEIN. In a plant-based diet with plenty of variety (beans, legumes, leafy greens, soy, etc), it is not difficult to get the daily recommendation of protein, but I have been watching it carefully this first week. I found this article very helpful on the subject of protein for vegetarians: www.health.com/health/ga
llery/0,,20718479,00.html

And this morning, I went a little crazy at our co-op grocery!



Look at all this yummy goodness! A prepared salad, a bagel and hummus and coffee and edamame salad for today's meals. Then, dried red lentils, green lentils, organic couscous, coconut granola, brown basmati rice, organic quinoa & some nutritional yeast. This is about 10 meals worth of stuff...all for about $30. Add some veggies and we're set! No one can tell me it costs more to be healthy. Meat is SO expensive! And with the money we're saving on that, we're getting fresh produce. Great deal!

I know this is not for everyone...and not everyone will be on board. That's OK. I'm just over the moon excited about how our family's health is going to improve. And the fact that Mr. T has jumped on this train with me...with no resistance whatsoever and with full commitment...I can't even explain how that makes me feel. Neither of us has ever been with a partner that actually cared about health enough to make real changes. It's an exciting journey together and I'm so glad to have him by my side in this.

Til tomorrow...lemme know what else you want to know. I'm an open book!