I made a major grocery run yesterday so that we would have plenty of food in the house. I went to 3 different stores and got food that both Dustin and I could enjoy. Since we will be moving soon (hopefully), the urge to eat out is clear and present, so instead of going out to eat every night, I bought food that would be satisfying, but not diet destroying.
Although, after I looked at all of the pictures I took all day of my eats I noticed that veggies were nowhere to be found!? The theme of this month is VEGGIES after all!
Oh well! Let’s get to it! Thank you to Jenn over at Peas and Crayons for making this fun activity every week!
Breakfast: Oatmeal, as always. Nothing fancy just Quick Oats, Flaxseed, 1/2 a banana, and Agave Nectar. The perfect pre-workout meal.
Morning Snack: Chocolate Coconut Larabar (unpictured)
Lunch: I was so excited to try out my lunch today. I LOVE pizza. It is absolutely, without a doubt, my most favorite food. So when I started eating a more plant-based diet I didn’t have a lot of wiggle room when it came to this glorious meal. I went to the health food store and bought some “alternative” mozzarella cheese, and some “pepperoni”. I had such a great experience with the Italian Tofurky, that I thought I could venture onto something different.
My ingredients: La Tortilla Factory Low-carb Tortilla, Daiya Mozzarella “Cheese”, and Yves No -Meat Pepperoni.
I layered a tortilla with Classico spaghetti sauce, fake cheese, and fake pepperoni. Then I broiled it in the oven to make it “melt”.
Finished product:
Looks pretty good, huh? Well, it WASN’T. In fact, it tasted like ass. Ya, it was THAT bad. I took one bite, and immediately threw it in the trash. So much for trying to create a plant-based version of my favorite food. I will just have to have a REAL pizza from time to time to calm my cravings.
New (and much better) lunch:
This lunch, on the other hand, was awesome! Low carb tortilla with brown rice, black beans, and a mashed up avocado with a little garlic salt. It totally hit the spot, and took the taste of the “pizza” out of my mouth. Now let’s never speak of this again, ok?
On the side of my lunch I had an apple and 1/2 of a Kombucha:
Dinner: My body was CRAVING meat. I veered from my meal plan (which had meatless fajita’s on the menu), and decided to make some White Bean Chicken Chili. It is basically chicken, broth, white cannelloni beans, and green chili’s. I topped it off with some crushed tortilla chips and a dollop of plain greek yogurt, and I had a delicious dinner that my body was happy with.
I’m trying to give my body the things that it wants (healthy wise), and just go a little more with the flow. It feels like the more foods I try to take out of my diet the harder it has been to eat well. I’m counting calories, and if I eat the right portion size, and don’t go crazy, I should see a loss on the scale. We’ll see.
How many grocery stores do you go to when doing your weekly shopping?
Ever experimented with fake meats or cheese’s?
Eaten anything memorable lately?
Tonya
/ February 22, 2012I go to way too many stores. It’s ridiculous!
But there are certain thinks I like from each one. Trader Joe’s: Mediterranean hummus & wine. Whole Foods: Kombucha (by the way thanks for getting me hooked on that!), other random health foodie type stuff. Ralphs: General groceries. Fresh & Easy: For packaged salads. Gelsons: If I ran out of wyman’s frozen wild blueberries (that I put on my oatmeal each morning). Not to mention the farmers market which is a block away on Thurs, and the occasional run to Cooke’s Market which is a block away in case I forgot anything. Whew!
I don’t really use substitutes. Well tofu makes a nice meat substitute option but it’s not faking it for something else.
Yes I made Bethanny Frankel’s recipe for pesto vegetarian lasagna. yum!
Aimee
/ February 22, 2012I generally only go to one grocery store which is about 3 minutes up the road. Sadly I’m often there 2-4 times a week to pick up little things that I forgot or that we have run out of. No matter how hard I try to be prepared I haven’t been very good at it lately. Once every 6 weeks or so I make a Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods trip. They are in neighboring plazas about 15 minutes away. They are just far enough to make them inconvenient to visit more frequently even though I would love to go weekly. About once a month I shop at Costco for a variety of things.
I don’t mind the fake cheeses too much. I usually only buy the Galaxy Veggie Shreds because that is what’s at my local store. I am under no illusion that they will replace the taste of cheese, but I’m used to them. I have tried the vegan sausage once and it was ok. I tend to stick to tofu a couple times a month and beans.
I recently made a lemon + honey cabbage salad from edibleperspective.com. It was really light and refreshing.
Liz @ Run Fat Chick Run!
/ February 22, 2012I usually head out to three stores: Trader Joe’s, Costco and the grocery store. Usually in that order as well.
Now as far as the fake meats and cheeses go: I like dairy and refuse to give up my real cheese. So while I am good vegetarian I could never be a good vegan. EVER. As far as fake meats: I usually avoid them because a) they are heavily processed and b) if I wanted meat I would actually eat meat. Let’s take burgers for example: I do not want a soy substitute tries to mimick a beef burger. But I do love a good potato and veggie patty or even better rice, lentil and black bean patty.
I made the most delicious pancakes from scratch for dinner. Neither the boy nor I are sure why we have been using the box for years because making them from scratch was super easy, quick and WAY delicious.
Christa
/ February 23, 2012I’ve never had vegan meat or cheese, but i HAVE tried to make a quick pizza on a tortilla, and hated it. Maybe you could try another bread and have better luck?
Tt in nyc
/ February 24, 2012There are no substitutes out there for pizza. But there are great “pizzas” with tomato sauce, hummus, and roasted veggies ontop. And changing the focus from what you “cant” eat is not as helful as focusing on eating “more”. More greens, more colors, more plant based foods, trying new to you recipes for veggies…. And suddenly you dont miss a thing.