30 Days A Vegan: Week 1

Day 1:

• Breakfast: Avocado Toast on Grain Bread and coffee with Califia Farms Almond Milk Creamer – If you’re looking for a non-dairy, low-fat, and/or low-calorie all natural creamer, I HIGHLY recommend this brand. I’ve had all 3 flavors, and they’re delicious. I started using them months ago, so this isn’t a vegan thing, it’s a delicous coffee thing.
• Lunch: Pasta with Asparagus, Sun-dried Tomatoes, and Pesto, and Roast Sweet Potatoes, Mushrooms, and Broccolini – I realized after the fact that I inadvertently strayed from full vegan here, as the pesto contains Parmesan cheese. #RookieMistake
• Dinner: Since it was #PizzaFriday, we ordered from Domino’s. I had a thin crust pizza with double mushroom, black olives, diced tomatoes, green pepper, and onions, and no cheese, and a mixed green salad with simple vinaigrette. – I know, I know, pizza without cheese? Is that really pizza? Call it a veggie flatbread if it makes you feel better, but it was delicious, and I didn’t miss the cheese at all. Seriously.
• Snacks: Marcoa almonds while waiting for our pizza. Oh, and cocktails. Is it Friday night without a cocktail?
• Thoughts: This was a rather easy day, and set me up for a good start. What I knew before this, and is even more evident now, is that this type of diet (definition a, b, or c, not d) will require more planning and prep than I’ve had to do previously. Really, not a bad thing at all, but something to take into consideration.

Day 2:

• Breakfast: Coffee with Almond Milk Creamer
• Lunch: Zucchini Grillini, no cheese, and Organic Vegetable Soup from Jason’s Deli – This was our first trip to a Jason’s, and we’re already excited to go back. The menu looked awesome, the salad bar was STOCKED with some great options and healthy grain salads to top your greens, and they have free ice cream. That’s right, FREE ICE CREAM. Of course, I couldn’t have any, but what a cool option available for young and old alike as an incentive to finish their meal.
• Dinner: Portobello Tacos with Vegan Jalapeno Sauce – I’ve “warned” Jim we’d probably be enjoying a lot of Mexican food, as the easiest way to enjoy any vegetable is to wrap it in a tortilla and top with salsa. These were delicious, and my first experiment with cashew based sauces. Great flavor, but I wish I would have had time to soak the cashews longer, our errands that day took longer than expected, and added another jalapeno for kick.
• Snacks: Chips, Salsa, and Guacamole and Spicy Grapefruit Margaritas – Tequila is vegan, right?
• Thoughts: Again, I’m pretty early into this experiment, so it wasn’t too tough, but I did find myself wanting a cookie from the jar in the kitchen and ice cream during lunch, but it wasn’t too difficult to tell myself no. I also stocked up at Trader Joe’s on some staples for future meals, as well as some treats such as Honey Roasted Almond slices for salads and snacking, as well their Frozen Coconut Dessert With Chocolate, which basically just tasted like delicious chocolate ice cream with a faint hint of coconut. Highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Day 3:

• Breakfast: Leftover Portobello Tacos with Jalapeno Sauce and Coffee with Almond Milk Creamer
• Lunch: Leftover pizza from Friday and veggie sandwich from Saturday
• Dinner: Snack plate of veggies, hummus, and pita chips
• Snacks: Prosecco 🙂
• Thoughts: Anything is doable when it’s enjoyed with bubbles!

Day 4:

• Breakfast: Peanut Butter & Jelly Chia Pudding, Avocado Toast, and Coffee
• Lunch: Snack plate of veggies, hummus, and pita chips
• Dinner: Sautéed mushroom, asparagus, and onions with jalapeños, corn, and kale over quinoa topped with jalapeño cashew sauce
• Snacks: Republic of Tea’s Coconut Cocoa Tea with Coconut Milk
• Thoughts: The struggle was real today. I was on my own with the kids for dinner, and I had the idea to go to Culver’s to get take-out. I could have a veggie burger and sweet potato fries, right? Wrong! The veggie burgers contained cheese. Luckily I had looked it up before getting into line. My alternate dinner was good, but I was really hoping for some sweet potato fries. In other news, that PB&J Chia Pudding was AMAZING. Seriously, so, so good. And easy too. I think it took me all of 10 minutes to mix it up into 5 servings for some quick weekday breakfasts. Can’t wait to try other flavor combinations. <runs off to google some more chia pudding recipes before bed>

Day 5:

• Breakfast: Caramel Latte with Coconut Milk & Fruit Cup from Starbucks
• Lunch: Panera’s Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with almonds
• Dinner:  Out with a Friend for Mexican: DIEZ VECES MÁS LOCO VEGETARIANO: Zucchini, red peppers, green peppers, carrots, tomato, red onion, mushrooms, broccoli, with Rice and Beans … and chips, salsa, and table-side guacamole. Obviously.
• Snacks: n/a … which lead to the massive amounts of chips and salsa consumed at dinner

Day 6:

• Breakfast: PB&J Chia Seed Pudding and Coffee with Almond Milk Creamer
• Lunch: Mediterranean Salad from Potbelly with no chicken or cheese
• Dinner: Vegetable Sushi Rolls with Sesame Miso Kale Salad
• Snacks: Popcorn and Rosé
• Thoughts: Real talk. This evening I sniffed the cookie jar like I was part vacuum, but I resisted a bite of the delicious smelling butter and egg filled baked goods.

Day 7:

• Breakfast: Trader Joe’s Frozen Steelcut Oatmeal with bananas, cinnamon, and brown sugar and Coffee with Almond Milk Creamer
• Lunch: Leftover Veggie Fajitas with Sweet Potato Chips, Guacamole, and Salsa
• Dinner: Veggie Sub on Wheat from Subway and a Riverwest Stein from Lakefront Brewery
• Snacks: n/a
• Thoughts: Thus ends week 1. Overall, there were difficult parts, but it was easier than I expected. That being said, it was an odd week for our family, without as many family dinners as we usually have, i.e. 6 or 7 rather than 2. Next week should be more of a challenge, as we’re back to the usual routine, and my goal in all of this is to share as little resemblance as possible with a short order cook. Basically, I want my meals to parallel those of the rest of the family, with as few changes as possible to make mine vegan.

 

Now, onto week 2!

Lighter Fettuccini Alfredo

Alfredo is one of the most decadent sauces out there. It’s a delicious blend of butter and cheese, usually, served over pasta. While this recipe from Cooking Light is a lightened version, it’s by no means a health food, so, as always, enjoy in moderation and pair with a salad or roasted broccoli like we did.

Ingredients

• tablespoon butter
  
• garlic cloves, minced
  
• tablespoon all-purpose flour
  
• 1 1/3 cups 1% low-fat milk
  
• 1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
  
• tablespoons 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• cups hot cooked fettuccine (8 ounces uncooked pasta)
  
• teaspoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  
• Cracked black pepper
  

Preparation

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in flour.
   
2. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk. Cook 6 minutes or until mixture thickens, stirring constantly. Add 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, cream cheese, and salt, stirring with a whisk until cheeses melt. Toss sauce with hot pasta. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and chopped parsley. Garnish with black pepper, if desired. Serve immediately.

Red Pepper Remoulade

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Mayonnaise
  
• 1 Roasted Red Pepper
  
• 1 clove Garlic
  
• Juice of ½ a Lemon
  
• ½ tsp Salt
  
• ¼ tsp Black Pepper, freshly ground
  
• 2 tsp Red Wine Vinegar
  

Directions:

1. Blend all ingredients with a small food processor or hand blender.
   

Mushroom Bolognese

I’m sure I’ve told you before, but the idea of a vegetarian dinner and Jim do not mix. Now, that isn’t to say he won’t eat and enjoy his vegetables, but in his mind, and the minds of many, many others, dinner = meat. So, knowing this, it was a risk on my part to feature this recipe from The Italian Dish as part of our Valentine’s Dinner. Though, I will say that it was a calculated risk, as it’s always easier to slip something questionable into dinner when it’s surrounded by pasta. Success! Not only did he eat it, he commented at how good it was BEFORE being asked for feedback. Yeah, that’s right.

This recipe made a pretty substantial pot of sauce, but, as the original recipe notes, freezes well for quick weeknight meals. I served over some good Italian dried pasta, but I think it would also be tasty over some cheese ravioli or even a sautéed chicken breast for those stubborn meat eaters in your life. Also, based on price, I paid $6.99 for one ounce, the dried porcini mushrooms may seem like a big splurge, but since you’re not adding meat and the rest of the ingredients are quite inexpensive, it’s worth the investment into the overall flavor of your finished sauce.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
  
• 1 Large Carrot, peeled and diced
  
• 2 medium sized Celery Ribs, diced
  
• ½ medium Onion, diced
  
• Kosher Salt
  
• Black Pepper, freshly ground
  
• 3 clove Garlic, grated or minced
  
• ¾ cup Red Wine
  
• 1 pound Mushrooms, about 19 oz. before being stemmed (I used a mix of mostly baby bellas and some shiitake), chopped
  
• 1 ounce of dried Porcini Mushrooms
  
• 1 ½ cups Broth, beef or Vegetable
  
• 1 15 oz. can Whole Tomatoes, crushed
  
• 1 15 oz. can Tomato Sauce or Puree
  
• 2 Bay Leaves
  
• 2 tsp Sugar
  
• 2 tsp Dried Oregano
  
• 1 tsp Dried Thyme
  

Directions:

1. Soak the dried porcini mushrooms in 1 cup of very warm water and let sit for 20 minutes. Strain through a cheesecloth or a coffee filter and keep the liquid. Do not use a metal mesh strainer for this step – it is not fine enough. Chop the porcini mushrooms and set aside.
   
2. Sauté the onion, carrot and celery in a large pot in the olive oil with a big pinch of kosher or sea salt and a few grindings of pepper. Let the vegetables cook for about 8 minutes, on low heat. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Increase heat and add the wine. Cook for 5 minutes, making sure the wine is simmering. Add all of the mushrooms.
   
3. Add the rest of the ingredients, including the reserved porcini mushroom liquid. Simmer, uncovered, for about an hour to an hour and a half, until the sauce has reduced down and a lot of the liquid has cooked off – cook until you like the thickness of the sauce. Taste for salt and adjust seasoning.
   
4. This recipe will be more than enough to coat a pound of pasta. If you don’t use all the sauce, it’s great the next day or you can freeze it.

Sesame Chicken with Snow Peas

I’m down to 2 magazines, Bon Appétit and Food Network. This is big. I was recently subscribing to 5, but I cancelled InStyle, Clean Eating and Real Simple. There wasn’t anything wrong with those magazines; I just looked around one day and realized I was drowning in stacks and stacks of issues from previous months. It was more business than pleasure.

This recipe is from the latest issue of Food Network Magazine. We loved it. It was savory, spicy, sweet (hey, that reminds me of a blog I know …) Anyways, we really enjoyed it, and I particularly enjoyed that the chicken had a ton of flavor without a lot of extra fat or calories from breading and frying before tossing the chicken with the sauce.

Oh, by the way, in the spirit of full disclosure, I get Martha Stewart Living too, but I don’t pay for it, so it doesn’t count. Not that I steal it from the neighbor or anything, it was a promotional subscription.

Ingredients:

• 5 Tbsp Low-Sodium Soy Sauce
  
• 4 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil
  
• 2 tsp Honey
  
• 1 ¼ pounds skinless, boneless Chicken Breasts, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
  
• 6 tsp Canola Oil
  
• 2 Scallions, thinly sliced
  
• 1 Tbsp Ginger, grated
  
• 3 cloves Garlic, minced
  
• 1 ¼ cups Chicken Broth
  
• 3 Tbsp Sugar
  
• 4 tsp Cornstarch
  
• 1 Tbsp Rice Vinegar
  
• 1 tsp Chile Paste
  
• 4 cups Snow Peas, trimmed
  
• 2 cups Cooked Brown Rice, for serving (optional)
  
• 2 Tbsp toasted Sesame Seeds
  

Directions:

1. Whisk 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 teaspoons sesame oil and the honey in a bowl. Toss in the chicken and marinate 20 minutes.
   
2. Remove the chicken from the marinade using a slotted spoon. Heat 2 teaspoons canola oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken in 2 batches; turning once or twice, until browned, 3 to 5 minutes (add 2 more teaspoons canola oil between batches). Transfer the chicken to a plate and wipe out the skillet.
   
3. Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons canola oil in the skillet. Add the scallions, reserving some of the green parts for topping. Add the ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Whisk the broth, sugar, cornstarch, vinegar, chili paste and the remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce in a bowl; add to the skillet and cook, stirring, until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the remaining 2 teaspoons sesame oil.
   
4. Meanwhile, cook the snow peas in a steamer basket set over a few inches of boiling water until crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes.
   
5. Return the chicken to the skillet with the sauce and heat through. Serve the chicken and snow peas over brown rice, if desired. Top with the sesame seeds and reserved scallion greens.
   

 

Servings – 4

WW Points – 9 pts per serving

Spiced Chicken Bites with Chipotle Lime Dipping Sauce

As I’ve mentioned before, the man in this house cannot live on vegetables alone. That was made evident very recently by the joy expressed when I presented him with Bacon Waffles. Truth be told, I enjoyed the heck out of them as well. That being said, I am constantly on the hunt to find a healthified version of one of his favorites: chicken wings. The chicken wing can be a thing of beauty in that it packs huge flavor and spice in a tiny package. Unfortunately, those tiny packages also pack a huge double whammy of fat and calories.

It’s obvious that the first place one can cut some of the “bad” stuff out is to use white meat chicken, eliminate the skin, and skip the deep fat frying. This recipe from Life’s Ambrosia got me halfway there, and I filled in the other two points by trading wings for chunks of chicken breast. The result was a deliciously spicy grown up chicken nugget of sorts. Paired with the Chipotle sauce and you have the perfect equation for an empty serving platter. We had these as our dinner with some corn on the cob and watermelon, but I think they would make a great appetizer during football season, or just about any other time for that matter.

Ingredients:

Chicken Bites:

• 1 ½ lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut into roughly 1″ cubes
  
• ½ tsp Garlic Powder
  
• ½ tsp Onion Powder
  
• ½ tsp Cumin
  
• ½ tsp Chili Powder
  
• ¼ tsp Chipotle Powder
  
• 1 tsp Kosher Salt
  
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
  
• ½ cup Panko Bread Crumbs
  
• ½ cup Plain Bread Crumbs
  

Chipotle Lime Dipping Sauce:

• 1 cup Non-fat Greek Yogurt
  
• ½ cup Reduced Fat Mayo
  
• 2 to 3 Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce
  
• Juice of 1 Lime
  
• 1 tsp Vinegar
  
• ½ tsp Kosher Salt
  

Directions:

Chicken Bites:

1. Rinse and pat dry the chicken wings.
   
2. In a bowl combine garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, salt and olive oil in a bowl. Sprinkle over the chicken wings and toss to coat completely. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
   
3. After the wings have marinated, preheat oven to 400 degrees.
   
4. Mix panko and plain dry bread crumbs in a bowl. Press marinated wings into the bread crumbs to coat completely.
   
5. Place on a baking sheet and bake 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and bread crumbs are golden brown. Transfer to a serving platter and serve.
   

Chipotle Lime Dipping Sauce:

1. Combine yogurt, mayonnaise, chipotle peppers, lime juice, vinegar and kosher salt in a food processor.
   
2. Process until smooth. Transfer to a bowl. Serve.
   

 

Chicken Bites: Servings – 6 / WW Points – 5 pts per serving

Chipotle Lime Dipping Sauce: Servings – 16 / WW Points – 1 pt per 2 Tbsp serving

Garlic Aioli

When I came upon the recipe for the Corn & Crab Fritters, I was immediately turned off by the idea of serving them with Guacamole. I don’t know why, and if the idea appeals to you, I say go for it. As for me, I thought a creamy garlicky sauce sounded more appealing. Inspired by this recipe, I tried my hand at adjusting it by substituting the olive oil and eggs with non-fat Greet Yogurt. I have to say, I think it turned out wonderfully. I have since used some of the leftover sauce as base for crab salad and in a light cabbage slaw for Cajun Cod Po’ Boy Sandwiches.

Ingredients:

• 1 small Yukon Gold Potato , peeled and quartered
  
• 1 ½ tsp Kosher Salt
  
• 1 to 3 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped
  
• 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
  
• 6 oz Non-fat Greek Yogurt
  
• ¼ tsp Pepper, freshly ground
  
• 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed is best
  
• 2 to 4 Tbsp Low-fat Milk, depending on thickness of sauce
  

Directions:

1. In a stockpot, place potato and enough cold water to cover; bring to boil. Add 1 teaspoon salt and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain.
   
2. In a food processor, blender, or with your hand blender, blend all ingredients, except milk, until smooth. Add in milk, a tablespoon at a time, until desired thickness is reached.
   

Servings – 1 ½ cups or 12 2 Tbsp Servings

WW Points – 2 Tbsp = 0 pts / 4 Tbsp = 0.5 pts

Jalapeño Ranch Dressing

We’ve been eating a lot of salads. A lot. Our favorite is a tossup (sorry for the pun) between a classic Caesar and a mixed green salad with ranch dressing. I usually, gasp, buy our salad dressings, as we’ve found some really great ones, and I would rather focus on other parts of the meal. That being said, I do occasionally get excited to try new ones that pop into my Google Reader, like this one from Joelen’s Culinary Adventures.

This was good, and I’ve only made two changes to the recipe below. The first is adjusting the amount of buttermilk. While this recipe is for a “dressing”, the final product was more of a “dip”. I have absolutely no problem with that, as it was a perfect dip for the Oven Fried Chipotle Chicken Tenders we enjoyed with it, but if you’re looking for a dressing to toss with a salad, I would increase the amount of liquid. Though, you may be best to keep it thick, and then whisk a few tablespoons with some milk to get the consistency you like in a dressing, and then toss with your salad. The second change was simply in the time I would encourage you to wait before enjoying. The longer, the better, as far as I’m concerned.

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup Nonfat Greek Yogurt
  
• ¼ cup Reduced Fat Mayo with Olive Oil (Kraft)
  
• ½ cup. Light Sour Cream
  
• ½ to 1 cup Lowfat Buttermilk
  
• 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
  
• 1 Jalapeño, minced
  
• ½ tsp Dried Thyme
  
• 1 tsp Fresh Chives, minced
  
• ¼ tsp Garlic Powder
  
• ¼ tsp Onion Powder
  
• ½ tsp Salt
  
• ¹/₂ tsp Pepper, freshly ground
  

Directions:

1. In a bowl combine mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, garlic, jalapeno, thyme, chives, garlic powder and onion powder. Season with salt and pepper.
   
2. Refrigerate for, at least, 1 hour before serving.
   

 

Servings – 16

WW Points – 1 pt per 2 Tbsp serving

Béarnaise Sauce

A great sauce for steak, seafood, asparagus, … really, almost anything.

Ingredients:

• 1 shallot, minced
  
• 1 ½ tsp Tarragon, fresh or dried
  
• 2/3 cup White Wine Vinegar
  
• 4 Large Egg Yolks
  
• ½ cup Unsalted Butter, cut into small pieces
  
• Coarse Salt
  

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, bring shallot, tarragon, and vinegar to boil over medium. Cook until liquid reduces to 2 tablespoons, about 4 minutes; strain. Rinse pan; return mixture to pan.
   
2. Whisk together egg yolks and 2 tablespoons water. Add to pan. Cook over low, whisking, until mixture thickens and forms thick ribbons when lifted with whisk, 3 to 4 minutes. 
   
3. Gradually whisk in butter. If sauce bubbles at any time, remove from heat, and whisk in a piece of butter. Continue whisking until all butter is incorporated, about 3 minutes. Season with salt to taste.

Buffalo Chicken Burgers

These are an adaptation of the previously posted Tequila Chicken Burgers, with some inspiration from The Active Foodie’s
Boneless Buffalo Strip recipe.

I really couldn’t have asked them to turn out any better than they did. They have a nice flavor and spice without being too hot, and the blue cheese mayo is a perfect complement to keep any overwhelming spice in check.

Ingredients:

Burgers:

• 1 lb Ground Chicken
  
• 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
  
• 1 tsp Salt
  
• 1 tsp Pepper, freshly ground
  
• 1 Tbsp Sriracha
  
• 2 Tbsp Frank’s Red Hot
  
• 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
  
• 1 ½ tsp Smoked Paprika
  
• 1 tsp Chili Powder
  
• ¼ cup Parsley, finely chopped
  
• ¼ cup Celery, finely minced
  
• ½ cup Panko Bread Crumbs
  
• ½ cup Blue Cheese, crumbled
  
• Olive Oil
  

For serving:

• Burger Buns
  
• Grilled Onion Slices
  
• Tomato Slices
  
• Lettuce
  
• Blue Cheese Mayo:
  
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
    
  • ½ cup mayo
    
  • ¼ cup Blue Cheese, crumbled
    
  • 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
    
  • ½ tsp Salt
    
  • 1 tsp Pepper, freshly ground
    

Directions:

1. Combine the garlic, salt, pepper, Sriracha, Frank’s, vinegar, paprika, chili powder, and chicken breasts. Mix in the parsley, blue cheese, celery, and panko. Make sure all ingredients are well blended. Chill for 1 to 4 hours to allow flavors to meld.
   
2. Light grill, and preheat on high for 5 minutes.
   
3. Form the mixture into 4 patties, bushing all sides lighting with olive oil. Grill burgers, turning flame down to a medium, for about 16 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking to brown both sides. Cover with foil, and allow to rest for a minute or two. Serve on buns with onion, tomato, lettuce, and blue cheese mayo as desired.