I have tried to eliminate eggs from my diet since my conversation with Griffin, my wise 17 year old son. He suggested that not eating eggs would be an obvious choice for a vegetarian. I explained that I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian or thought I was until I digested his advice. Yes, if I don't eat chicken, why would I continue to consume eggs. So after becoming totally grossed out by the thought of what eggs are, I decided to avoid cooking omelettes and egg dishes. I also stopped using eggs in pancake and waffle recipes and have made cookies without them. This does not mean I will stop eating all products with eggs in them but that I will become more conscious when making the choice.
Becoming a vegetarian again was a choice I made when I decided to eat healthier and try and lose some weight. I do feel more energetic, more focused and I have lost weight. As long as this trend continues, it inspires me to learn more about nutrition and healthy living.
This morning I ate soy sage patties and whole wheat pancakes with my yogurt butter and honey. My favorite morning beverage is Vanilla Almond Milk. Eating whole grains keep you satisfied for a longer period than white flour. Soysage tastes great and has no cholesterol or bad fats. I used Wild flower honey because I ran out of Agave Maple Syrup.
Today is Super Bowl Sunday. I better get my homemade vegetarian chili out of the freezer so I can have some while not watching the game. Just kidding, I will probably have left over Thai from last night's meal.
What can I have for dinner, that is the question for the day?
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Living the Good Life...
I have loved every day and I have enjoyed eating and cooking so much more now that I am living the vegetarian dream. Everyday i eat exactly what I want to eat, which is Healthy, Tasty, Creative Food and flavors so absolutely enticing that it just makes me enjoy living that much more.
Many of you know my passion for Indian Vegetarian Food. Well do I have a special treat to share with each of you. Let me begin by saying that my favorite Indian vegetarian chef is on hiatis for the moment. His name is Ram and he owned my favorite Indian Restaurant called Madras Sri Ganesh Ram Palace in Stone Mountain. MGR Palace closed recently and Ram was cooking at another restaurant but he is on vacation till he opens a new palace. Ram was the dosai chef at Madras Saravana.
Anyway, the new news is that Udipi Cafe from Emory has opened two new locations by Cumberland and on Peachtree Industrial. I have been to the Cumberland cafe twice over the last week and they are cooking absolutely incredible vegetarian dishes and they offer them in a lunch buffet that is very affordable. The food is consistently delicious and exotic. I highly recommend the Palak Paneer and the Masala Dosai. Don't forget to try dipping the pakora into either the mint sauce, tamarind sauce or the coconut sauce.
Many of you know my passion for Indian Vegetarian Food. Well do I have a special treat to share with each of you. Let me begin by saying that my favorite Indian vegetarian chef is on hiatis for the moment. His name is Ram and he owned my favorite Indian Restaurant called Madras Sri Ganesh Ram Palace in Stone Mountain. MGR Palace closed recently and Ram was cooking at another restaurant but he is on vacation till he opens a new palace. Ram was the dosai chef at Madras Saravana.
Anyway, the new news is that Udipi Cafe from Emory has opened two new locations by Cumberland and on Peachtree Industrial. I have been to the Cumberland cafe twice over the last week and they are cooking absolutely incredible vegetarian dishes and they offer them in a lunch buffet that is very affordable. The food is consistently delicious and exotic. I highly recommend the Palak Paneer and the Masala Dosai. Don't forget to try dipping the pakora into either the mint sauce, tamarind sauce or the coconut sauce.
Day 36 As A Vegetarian
Heres to a HUGE SHOUT OUT to Scott Carter for his Asian Inspiration and recipe. Scott, I will be eating variations of this for the rest of my life, thanks!
As Scott suggested, I heated olive oil and added sweet onion to a hot wok, and pressed garlic, then stirred in Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste, ( totally vegetarian ). Then I threw in some cauliflower, broccoli, bamboo shoots, carrots, bell pepper and firm tofu to roll around in the paste. I then added more curry paste and a little sesame oil. After adding crushed red pepper flakes, I did a variation Scott. I added Trader Joe's Thai Red Curry Sauce that has coconut milk, ginger and more red chili & onion. After cooking, I spooned this on top of my short grain brown rice. With a tiny bit of tamari and a class of Pinot, dinner was served.
Next time I will add fresh ginger, mushrooms and coconut milk as Scott suggested. Cheers everyone!
As Scott suggested, I heated olive oil and added sweet onion to a hot wok, and pressed garlic, then stirred in Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste, ( totally vegetarian ). Then I threw in some cauliflower, broccoli, bamboo shoots, carrots, bell pepper and firm tofu to roll around in the paste. I then added more curry paste and a little sesame oil. After adding crushed red pepper flakes, I did a variation Scott. I added Trader Joe's Thai Red Curry Sauce that has coconut milk, ginger and more red chili & onion. After cooking, I spooned this on top of my short grain brown rice. With a tiny bit of tamari and a class of Pinot, dinner was served.
Next time I will add fresh ginger, mushrooms and coconut milk as Scott suggested. Cheers everyone!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
I have pretty much tried to eliminate white flour, processed foods, and as many preservatives as possible. I will add whole grains and as many fresh vegetables and fresh fruits as possible. I stopped drinking sodas and I will drink as much spring water as I can. I will also drink green teas, white teas and herbal teas. Celestial Seasoning Red Zinger is my favorite tea that I will make and always keep on hand. I stopped eating beef which means McDonalds hamburgers, Longhorn burgers, Five Guy's burgers and homemade hamburgers. I stopped eating steaks, beef tenderloin, pork tenderloin and all pork including bacon. The hard part will be giving up barbecue pork, barbecue turkey and barbecue chicken. Giving up all chicken whether it is fried, grilled or any other type, may be difficult, since that has been a huge part of my diet for the last twenty years. I have also been a huge sushi lover and seafood lover. I do love crab, lobster, fish, mussels, oysters and I may eat them all in the future. I do not know how long I will be a vegetarian, but I will try and eat this way as long as possible. I have prepared all meals that I have eaten at home, and it has been time consuming, but rewarding, at the same time. I have eaten out twice in the last 15 days. I had vegetarian Indian once and falafels the other night, at a Mediterranean restaurant up the street.
Day Two Vegetarian Diet - Made Vegan Chili for Tomorrow.. You start with sauteing onions, bell pepper, red pepper, carrots, mushrooms, celery, garlic and add tomato puree, spices and black beans, garbanzo beans and pinto beans then finish off with cooked crumbed TVP to add some great tasting protein. I put this on top off brown rice a few meals and then I mixed it up and put it on whole wheat noodles a couple of times.
By making big batches of soup or chili or pasta, you can eat several meals or freeze for another time in the near future. I learned to make a different grain and legume every few days to have as your base that you can add vegetables to. Tempeh or tofu is a great addition.
Day 5 - Veggie Burgers - carrots, zucchini, celery, bell pepper, onion, parsley, potato flakes, wheat germ, nutritional yeast, sunflower seeds. Eat in whole wheat pita with rice cheese or havarti with a little tamari sprinkled on top. Adds alfalfa sprouts if you have some fresh ones or you can use mung bean sprouts.
Day 8 - Quinoa with mushrooms, broccoli, tempeh & a little tamari. Quinoh, pronounced keenwah, a high protein food is kind of like a round rice or tabouli. It is actually a seed that is related to beets, spinach & tumbleweeds. It is cooked like a grain but is packed with nutrition.Tempeh is made from soybeans and brown rice. Cut it in slices and sautee in olive oil with a little tamari sauce and eat on the side or on top of rice or quinoa. You could eat is for breakfast in place of bacon.
Day 9 - Lasagna with Spinach and Peppers | WholeFoodsMarket.com
www.wholefoodsmarket.com Vegetarian lasagne with eggplant, onions, mushrooms, peppers and great cheeses, whole wheat pasta a must. I am adding mushrooms, eggplant and vidalia. I roasted the eggplant at 350 degrees until tender with a little olive oil brushed on, then layer with other ingredients. I will also add some tofu to the batch somehow.
Day 12 - I sauteed the staples of garlic, vidalia, carrots, button mushrooms, acorn squash ( peeled with a potato peeler ) celery, zucchini squash, parsley in some olive oil. I sprinkled gomazio and some Jamaican spices and tamari on top. eat with brown rice.
Day 14 - I discovered Morningstar Farms frozen vegetarian foods and tried the veggie chicken enchilada with rice. It was fine.
Day 15 - I fixed Morningstar maple soysage with scrambled parsley eggs and whole wheat toast. I use Brummel & Brown Yogurt Spread in place of butter to get some good omega 3s.
OK, Here is the deal, You want to mix whole grains like brown rice, buckwheat, barley, bulgur, cornmeal, hominy, quinoa, cracked wheat, quinoa, wheat germ, wild rice, bran with other legumes such as lentils of all colors, chickpeas, all beans including black, kidney, pinto, mung, soy, black-eyed peas, lima, adzuki for complete proteins. Add fruits, veggies and spring water and fresh air to live a long healthy life.
Day Two Vegetarian Diet - Made Vegan Chili for Tomorrow.. You start with sauteing onions, bell pepper, red pepper, carrots, mushrooms, celery, garlic and add tomato puree, spices and black beans, garbanzo beans and pinto beans then finish off with cooked crumbed TVP to add some great tasting protein. I put this on top off brown rice a few meals and then I mixed it up and put it on whole wheat noodles a couple of times.
By making big batches of soup or chili or pasta, you can eat several meals or freeze for another time in the near future. I learned to make a different grain and legume every few days to have as your base that you can add vegetables to. Tempeh or tofu is a great addition.
Day 5 - Veggie Burgers - carrots, zucchini, celery, bell pepper, onion, parsley, potato flakes, wheat germ, nutritional yeast, sunflower seeds. Eat in whole wheat pita with rice cheese or havarti with a little tamari sprinkled on top. Adds alfalfa sprouts if you have some fresh ones or you can use mung bean sprouts.
Day 8 - Quinoa with mushrooms, broccoli, tempeh & a little tamari. Quinoh, pronounced keenwah, a high protein food is kind of like a round rice or tabouli. It is actually a seed that is related to beets, spinach & tumbleweeds. It is cooked like a grain but is packed with nutrition.Tempeh is made from soybeans and brown rice. Cut it in slices and sautee in olive oil with a little tamari sauce and eat on the side or on top of rice or quinoa. You could eat is for breakfast in place of bacon.
Day 9 - Lasagna with Spinach and Peppers | WholeFoodsMarket.com
www.wholefoodsmarket.com Vegetarian lasagne with eggplant, onions, mushrooms, peppers and great cheeses, whole wheat pasta a must. I am adding mushrooms, eggplant and vidalia. I roasted the eggplant at 350 degrees until tender with a little olive oil brushed on, then layer with other ingredients. I will also add some tofu to the batch somehow.
Day 12 - I sauteed the staples of garlic, vidalia, carrots, button mushrooms, acorn squash ( peeled with a potato peeler ) celery, zucchini squash, parsley in some olive oil. I sprinkled gomazio and some Jamaican spices and tamari on top. eat with brown rice.
Day 14 - I discovered Morningstar Farms frozen vegetarian foods and tried the veggie chicken enchilada with rice. It was fine.
Day 15 - I fixed Morningstar maple soysage with scrambled parsley eggs and whole wheat toast. I use Brummel & Brown Yogurt Spread in place of butter to get some good omega 3s.
OK, Here is the deal, You want to mix whole grains like brown rice, buckwheat, barley, bulgur, cornmeal, hominy, quinoa, cracked wheat, quinoa, wheat germ, wild rice, bran with other legumes such as lentils of all colors, chickpeas, all beans including black, kidney, pinto, mung, soy, black-eyed peas, lima, adzuki for complete proteins. Add fruits, veggies and spring water and fresh air to live a long healthy life.
A New Beginning - Return to Vegetarian Diet.
On January 1, 2011, I became a vegetarian again like I was twenty one years ago. When I was 15 years old, my life took a new direction, I returned home from a trip to Europe, and I became a vegetarian. I also opened my first company that same year, a little plant shop on Pharr Rd called Nature's Way. I remember spending some time with this guy who was a Meher Baba follower who was a macrobiotic. He ate this strange brown rice that was very different from the Uncle Ben's white rice I was raised on. I started eating the rice and then I remember only ordering vegetable plates at the local diner. This was back in the 70s when the first juice bars and vegetarian restaurants started sprouting up. I ate at the Energy Source or the Egg and Lotus everyday where I ordered cashew, cheese & alfalfa sprout sandwiches or humus & sprout sandwiches. They had great lentil or split pea soups. We traded plants with the Egg & Lotus and I would go there and order the special vegetarian delight of the day. Soon the Kundalini's bought the Egg & Lotus and the name changed to the Golden Temple. The Golden Temple served Bajan Specials which was cooked mung beans with lots of spices and they would melt white cheddar on top and cover with a huge mound of sprouts. The local chines restaurant would make vegetarian egg rolls for me and vegetarian rice specials and they called them Tony Specials. Pretty soon both juice bars and Andy's Chinese had Tony's Specials that other people ordered who also wanted vegetarian dishes. I visited every vegetarian restaurant from Atlanta to Miami, from Atlanta to California and anywhere I travel to. I loved the Golden Temple in Georgetown outside of Washington DC. I also went to the Spiral Restaurant in Miami on a monthly basis and ordered huge quantities of food to take with me after dinner for the next day.
Okay, so you get it, I was a devout vegetarian for 18 years. Actually, let me clarify, I ate only vegetables for 3 years only. After that I added seafood back to the diet because I I thought this was such a divine food. I mean how bad could fish, crab, lobster and shrimp be, right?
Well, I am starting this year out on a fairly strict lacto-ovo vegetarian diet. I have never cut ice cream out of my diet so why not eat eggs and drink milk. I like to make waffles also and they typically require eggs and milk. I have only cooked eggs twice in the last 15 days. I do love soy milk but I have been drinking vanilla almond milk lately because it tastes like a milkshake.
Okay, so you get it, I was a devout vegetarian for 18 years. Actually, let me clarify, I ate only vegetables for 3 years only. After that I added seafood back to the diet because I I thought this was such a divine food. I mean how bad could fish, crab, lobster and shrimp be, right?
Well, I am starting this year out on a fairly strict lacto-ovo vegetarian diet. I have never cut ice cream out of my diet so why not eat eggs and drink milk. I like to make waffles also and they typically require eggs and milk. I have only cooked eggs twice in the last 15 days. I do love soy milk but I have been drinking vanilla almond milk lately because it tastes like a milkshake.
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