Day Five... and Still Alive

So I have made it 5 days eating a vegan diet, and so far so good. I don't really miss much yet. The only thing that has really changed is my snacks- no more greek yogurt and string cheese. They have been replaced by fruit and nuts. The one thing that I have had trouble with at the grocery is finding bread I like that doesn't have honey. Yes, honey is an animal product. I feel pretty good- actually I feel like my sinus problems that I had been having for the past month or so have gone away. Which makes sense because dairy products thicken up your mucus, etc.

I have made several good dinners. Monday was risotto with roasted butternut squash and brussels sprouts. Tuesday I made spaghetti with homemade tomato sauce with carrots, onion, garlic, mushrooms, and white beans for some protein. And tonight vegan boca burgers with hummus and balsamic onions along with sweet potato fries. For dessert, some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with dried cherries (vegan of course). I am profecting my low-fat oatmeal cookies recipe. I promise to share it when its ready. All in all, a pretty good week so far.

My Vegan Month: Days 1 & 2

A few weeks ago I decided that for the month of January I would adopt a vegan diet, and so it begins. That means not eating any animal products. Being vegan can mean different things to different people, and I am not going to go too strict. I will not be throwing out any of my shoes that may have leather on them or anything like that. I will, however, be making a valiant effort to avoid consuming animal products for the month. There are many reasons why I am doing this, but mainly it is an experiment for me to see what it is like to be vegan. As a nutritionist, I feel that I should understand different dietary patterns and what better way than to adopt them for a while. So I start with my vegan month.

Day 1-
I started yesterday with breakfast, which was also my first close call. I went out to a cafe with some friends and ordered oatmeal- almost forgetting to have it made with soymilk. It was delicious though, flavored with maple syrup, nuts, and dried fruit.



After breakfast it was time for groceries. It is a lot easier in a way to go grocery shopping because there are fewer items to choose from, but also more difficult because it requires ingredient labels to be read very carefully. For dinner I made a stir fry of vegetables and tofu with peanut sauce (I had one vegetable from each color group- makes me proud).


Then it was baking time- I found a recipe for vegan pumpkin pie brownies and adjusted it just a little. They turned out pretty good. A good cure for my chocolate craving.

Day 2-
I had oatmeal again this morning after my walk around the Capital and the market, but at home and with pistachios and agave nectar this time. For lunch I had leftover stir fry. Then the dinner dilemma. It can be difficult to find restaurants that are vegan friendly, but luckily DC has a decent number of options. We opted for Mediterranean tonight, which was a great choice. Now I am not 100% sure that everything was vegan, but I decided that I would use my best judgement. I got a falafel sandwich on flatbread with hummus and a spicy vegetable relish. All which are normally vegan. It was very good.

Overall, this has been a good start to my vegan month and 2011. I am excited to share the rest of my experiences this month with you all.

2010

This past year has been full of many changes. I finished my graduate degree, passed boards and officially became a registered dietitian, got my first real job, did a bit of traveling, moved to DC, said goodbye to some great friends and made lots of new ones. One thing that didn't change: my passion for cooking and food. I thought I would end 2010 with a collection of some of my favorite cooking and food adventures of the year. Enjoy.

4th of July with Katie

homemade manicotti

Pineapple Upside Down Cake


Abby's Birthday Cake


Dinner at Founding Farmers- amazing flatbread


Cupcakes for Tom's Birthday


Strawberry Rhubarb Pie


Dinner with Kyle in Lafayette, LA


Rebecca and Andrew's wedding cake

Under the Weather... Over the Moon

The soup that my wonderful boyfriend made me tonight because I am not feeling so hot. He wouldn't even let me help so I could rest. And keeping me out of the kitchen is not an easy thing to do. I am pretty lucky.
.

You Say Frittata

One of my favorite things to do on the weekend is to sleep in a bit, and then get up and make a delicious breakfast. I was on a frittata kick earlier this year- with lots of fresh veggies from the farmers market. I made my first one with a cast iron pan- which turned out pretty good. It is important to have a pan that can go into the oven for the last few minutes of cooking time.

I decided to add Amish potatoes into my second frittata, and it was great.
This week we decided to try some scones. I used a joyofbaking.com recipe for scones, and added dried cherries, pistachios and dark chocolate chips. It was a great combination- not to mention colorful. Buttermilk and not over-mixing are the secrets to good scones.


Happy Breakfasts!

Fakesgiving

I can't believe that Thanksgiving already came and went. I love gathering with family and friends, but I also love all of the fall foods together at one meal. The celebration started last week with a friendsgiving celebration at the guys house. Lots of food, people and fun. I decided to make 4 dishes: apple and sage dressing, homemade butternut squash ravioli with brown butter sage sauce, mixed greens and beet salad, and pumpkin whoopie pies.

I couldn't find a recipe I liked for the dressing, so I just made it up. The turkey was also hogging the oven, so I had to be a little creative and work with my new favorite pan- the cast iron skillet. True stovetop dressing I guess you could say.

Farmers apple and sage dressing

1 1/2 cup chopped onion

1 1/2 cup chopped carrot

1 cup chopped celery

2 tablespoons butter

2 cup chopped apple

6 cups cubed whole-wheat bread

vegetable stock (2-3 cups)

1/2 cup fresh sage

salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and celery and cook until tender. Add apple and saute for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add sage, bread, and 2 cups of the vegetable stock. Heat on medium-low heat for about 30 minutes, adding more broth if needed. Before serving, place in 400 degree oven for 10 minutes to brown the top.

I didnt get a good picture of the butternut squash ravioli, but it was tasty. It was a process making the ravioli, but worth it. I just love using my pasta maker.

Mixed Greens Salad with fresh beets, red onion, feta, toasted pecans, clementines with a balsamic vinagrette. I actually really loved this salad. Simple, healthy and delicious.

And finally for dessert: pumpkin whoopie pies. I used Martha's recipe, but changed the filling a little bit to be a tad healthier by using reduced fat cream cheese and skipping out on the butter.

This is only what I contributed to the party- but everyone made great dishes and we had a tasty turkey. Good friends, good food.

Farmville

It has been a long time since my last post, so I have a lot of catching up to do. I guess I was just too busy enjoying the beautiful October weather, and all that came with it. I was able to visit two farms. The first one, Montpelier Farms in Upper Marlboro, was for a staff retreat for work. Ya, I know. My job is tough- I had to spend a Friday afternoon taking a hayride and exploring the agritourism that this farm had to offer.

My second farm venture was to Homestead Farms northwest of DC. The gang and I went for a Sunday afternoon filled with apple picking, pumpkins, farm animals and lots of fun. The day was topped of with some chili, cornbread, and apple pie back in the district. Adam did a fabulous job of making cornbread. The chili was alright, I added too much tomato sauce so it had a strong tomato flavor which wasn't ideal.

We carved pumpkins and ate pumpkin seeds later in the week, and I also introducted a few folks to spaghetti squash. What a simple fall dish. Baked spaghetti squash served with tomatoes, basil and a little butter. We also recreated a fabulous flatbread we all had a Founding Farmers. We cheated a little and used naan topped with apple and onion relish, brie, and apples. Yum.

I redeemed myself by making southwestern veggie chili and corn bread pudding last weekend (see recipe). For the corn bread pudding, I made corn bread batter according to the directions on the corn meal package. Then added 1 can of creamed corn, 1/2 cup diced onions, 1/2 cup diced peppers, and about 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese. These were both pretty good- and definitely ones to add to the recipe book. There is no better way to spend a cold Sunday evening in the fall than with football, chili, and cornbread. The black bean burger in the chili really made it stand out.

Southwestern Veggie Chili
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup chopped bell pepper (red, green and yellow if you have them)
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon garlic
1 can chili seasoned diced tomatoes
1 can low sodium black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 cup vegetable broth
2 spicy black bean burgers (I like morningstar farms)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 cup corn
chili powder, salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Saute peppers, onion and garlic in oil until tender. Defrost black bean burger and cut into small pieces. Add to vegetables. Add tomatoes, beans, broth, corn and spices. Let simmer for 30 minutes- 1 hour. Serve with cheddar cheese, sour cream, and onions if desired.

I love fall and getting out of the city a little bit to truly enjoy the beauty of this time of year. I think that it is important for people to really take the time to explore where their food is coming from and to appreciate all that goes into producing it. Buying from local farms is good for the local economy, and allows the consumer to get fresher, usually higher quality produce at a decent price. So if you didn't get the chance to check out a farm this season, you should definitely make it a must do next year. Heck, if our country spent even a fraction of the time at a farm, getting to know the food system as we do on Farmville on Facebook- we might be in a different shape. Literally- a slightly smaller one to be precise.

And to leave you with some pictures:


The southwestern chili and cornbread pudding

The pumpkin Daniel carved for us

Wishing you a healthy, delicious week.

-M