Monthly Archives: February 2011

February 3, 2011 · 2:54 pm

CLEANING HOUSE – Results

A Big Mess

It has been a month since I challenged myself to only buy produce and bread products (to see my original challenge post click here). I am sooo happy I did this. My pantry feels so much more manageable and it really forced me to get creative with my meals and use things that I already had in the pantry, freezer, and fridge.

I did end-up buying some things that I was not supposed to, but let me explain… while on this challenge my meat-loving husband decided to try living plant based for a month (with the occasional bit of seafood). He was not ready to jump into eating plant based AND eating all whole foods, so I did buy him some mock meats. I am so proud to say that he has been sticking with it and doing really well!

What is clear to me is that even after completing this challenge I still have a lot of food in my pantry. I also still have a bunch of food in my freezers, but a lot of the food in there is food I always use (I am a big fan of making big batches of meals and freezing them for another night). I also still have a bit of meat and seafood in my fridge that I plan to share with others because I don’t see the point in throwing away food (Although I’s LOVE to throw away the chicken wings…no one’s heart needs that!).

I really think this challenge has changed me. I am going to try much harder to plan out my meals and not impulse buy. I don’t need to have so much on hand. Fresher is better!

So, here are the pantry results…

Pantry BEFORE

Pantry AFTER

Pantry BEFORE

Pantry AFTER

And the freezers…

Freezer BEFORE

Freezer AFTER

Garage Freezer BEFORE

Garage Freezer AFTER

3 Comments

Filed under Cleaning, Vegan, Vegetarian

Tagged as challenge, clean, cleaning house, freezer, fridge, pantry, vegan, vegetarian

February 2, 2011 · 2:39 pm

GOURMET SANDWICH BAR – Great for Entertaining

Gourmet Sandwich Bar

There are days when I just don’t have time to prepare an elaborate meal, so often on those days when my kids ask, “What’s for dinner?” I answer with, “gourmet sandwiches.” My family has come to love this answer. Who knew something so simple could taste so good?

I have also found that a gourmet sandwich bar can be a good solution when entertaining…it looks fancy, but is quick and easy to put together. In addition, this is a great meal to serve when there will be vegans and meat eaters at the same event.

My in-laws had some friends in town and I had them over for dinner last night. I knew that they were meat eaters, so I added grilled chicken to the sandwich bar menu. Last night my sandwich bar consisted of:

Fresh baked bread
Sundried tomato spread
Pesto spread
Mayonnaise
Grilled Mushrooms
Carmelized onions
Avocado
Tomato
Lettuce

I serve this menu buffet-style which allows people to make their sandwiches to their liking. I have made this meal many times for guests and it always turns out well. I also find that by slicing the chicken people tend to eat less meat (Sneaky me…always trying to reduce the meat consumption of those I care about!). If you were to leave the chicken breasts whole, people would eat the whole breast in their sandwich. When you slice it up I find that people eat about half as much meat!!!

Last night my sandwich consisted of bread, sundried tomato spread, lots of grilled mushrooms, carmelized onions, avocado, tomato, and lettuce (I could barely get my mouth around it!). I wanted to take a picture of it for you, but got too busy jabby gabbing with my guests.

Maybe you can have a sandwich bar this weekend when you host your Super Bowl parties!

Gourmet Sandwich Bar

1 Comment

Filed under Main Dish, Quick, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Tagged as avocado, bread, carmelized onion, cucumber, entertaining, grilled onion, onion, pesto, recipe, sandwich, sandwich bar, sundried tomato spread, tomato, vegan, vegetable, vegetarian, veggie sandwich

February 1, 2011 · 6:34 pm

OPRAH AND 378 STAFFERS GO VEGAN: THE ONE-WEEK CHALLENGE

Michael Pollan, Kathy Freston, & Oprah. Photo from Oprah.com

This is so great!!!!!!!

“The challenge is on! No meat, no milk, no animal anything. Oprah and 378 Harpo staffers go vegan for one week. Could you do it?” – quote from Oprah.com

A week is not long…why not join Oprah and her staff in trying this way of life for a week? Watch the show today.

To check out more details on the challenge from Oprah’s website directly, click here.

4 Comments

Filed under Cleansing, Education, Vegan, Vegetarian

Tagged as Kathy Freston, Michael Pollan, Oprah, Oprah Show, Oprah.com, vegan, Vegan Challenge, vegetarian

February 1, 2011 · 4:32 pm

RAW MAPLE APPLE CINNAMON SCONES

Raw Maple Cinnamon Apple Scones

INGREDIENTS

Makes 16 scones

4 apples

2 cups almond pulp (from making almond milk)

2/3 cup ground flax meal

2/3 cup water

2/3 cup raisons

1/4 cup coconut sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 Tbs. cinnamon

Quarter the apples and remove the core. Cut the apple quarters in thirds and place them in the food processor to turn it into raw applesauce. You may need to stop occasionally and scrape down the sides.