Vegetarian Challenge

**cheles2kids** · 11-03-2008, 10:53 AM

I would love to have others join me in this challenge.

If your a new vegetarian, transitioning vegetarian or just thought you'd like to try it to see if you can do it vegetarian, everyone is welcome!!!

Since we are now the 3rd day into this new month, I'm beginning with today.
(I really should have started this on Saturday, but oh well! Today is a new day!!)

So please post and join in, if you'd like to challenge yourself to eat vegetarian for the month of November!
I'd love to hear from you!!

**cheles2kids** · 11-04-2008, 10:32 AM

Well, 1 day down & only 27 more to go!

So we had pasta (me with extra chunky veggies), and a nice salad for dinner.

Tonight? I'm not sure yet. I'm really just craving some homemade mac.-n-cheese, but that's not going to be filling enough. So I'm not sure yet?

Anyone who would like to join in, I would love to have you.
Yes, I realize that Thanksgiving falls during this month, but if your interested in joining in the challenge, don't let this deter you.
This is a "see how many days you can eat vegetarian" challenge, not a "they are going to judge me, if I do really well & then eat turkey for Thanksgiving" challenge.

So just go with the flow, do what feels comfortable for you. If it happens to only be 5 days out of the month, that's great. That's 5 more days that you were able to experiment with veg. dishes.

**cheles2kids** · 11-05-2008, 08:02 AM

Day 2, down! I had refried bean nachos with grilled peppers & onions last night for dinner.
Yes, I also ate veg. for the other meals as well, but I just want to post here about my dinners, since those always seem to be what causes most of my slip-ups.

I'm pretty sure that I'll be cooking veggie stir-fry & some rice tonight. If for some reason it changes, I'll be sure to come back here & note it.

I've also been craving some roasted veggies, so I might have do that soon.
Roasted sweet potatoes & cauliflower are two of my all time fav. veggies!! Num, num, num!!!
If you haven't tried the roasted cauliflower, you've got to try it this week! Even if you don't care for cauliflower, you will love it this way!

**cheles2kids** · 11-06-2008, 11:52 AM

Well, I fixed veggie stir-fry last night but tonight I'm planning on chicken nachos for the family.
I can't expect them to go forever without some type of meat! Okay, well, I could but I think that they might protest!

So tonight I'm planning on just substituting the chicken with black beans, not a biggie!

I do feel now like I'm missing something? Weird I know. I'm not really craving anything, I don't know exactly how to describe it?

On any account, I'm just kinda flowing along and dealing with each day as it comes.
I'm so craving some comfort food, so I'm thinking a veggie pot pie will be on the menu soon?

One day at at time, right?

**vigilant20** · 11-06-2008, 11:54 AM

Originally Posted by cheles2kids

If you haven't tried the roasted cauliflower, you've got to try it this week! Even if you don't care for cauliflower, you will love it this way!

By roasted...do you mean like a gratin? I have that on my meal plan and already made an amazing cauliflower soup

Before this week I think the only way I've ever had it was raw with a little veggie dip!

**cheles2kids** · 11-06-2008, 12:22 PM

Originally Posted by vigilant20

By roasted...do you mean like a gratin? I have that on my meal plan and already made an amazing cauliflower soup

Before this week I think the only way I've ever had it was raw with a little veggie dip!

Hey Lynn, no, just wash & trim and then throw it onto a pan, drizzle with some olive oil & sprinkle with some sea salt and bake at about 400-425 till it starts getting tender & crispy brown.
It takes around 30 minutes or so, in my oven.

I shared this with another long-time veg. who had never heard of roasting cauliflower, she raved & raved about how good it turned out.
Let me know if you try it and how you like it!

**vigilant20** · 11-06-2008, 12:42 PM

Originally Posted by cheles2kids

Hey Lynn, no, just wash & trim and then throw it onto a pan, drizzle with some olive oil & sprinkle with some sea salt and bake at about 400-425 till it starts getting tender & crispy brown.
It takes around 30 minutes or so, in my oven.

I shared this with another long-time veg. who had never heard of roasting cauliflower, she raved & raved about how good it turned out.
Let me know if you try it and how you like it!

Interesting...thanks for sharing! I've been big on cauliflower lately, so I'm sure I'll be getting another head to try this soon

**cheles2kids** · 11-09-2008, 10:36 AM

Well, as you can see by my signature, I've not eaten veg. for the past 3 days.
Thursday night I ended up eating the chicken that I had fixed for the family instead of heating up my black beans-lazy, yea, I know.

Friday night we went out to eat dinner and instead of just ordering my salad without the grilled chicken, I ate it.

Saturday, actually the only thing that I ate non-veg. was a ham sandwich for lunch. Dinner, I did eat veg., but I still can't count it as a veg. day, oh well!

So, it looks like right now I'm pretty much 3-3, so I'm expecting this upcoming week to be even better!

So, looking over what I just wrote, I need to be more organized and not so lazy, order what I want at a restaurant, not necessarily what will be easiest and have some other sandwich options in mind for lunches!

I'm planning vegetarian taco soup in the crockpot for dinner tonight. This is actually a dish that I veganized and it tastes waaaay better than the meat version!
Then whatever is left over I'm planning on freezing it to have for one of those "I'm being lazy and haven't planned my meal ahead and need something quick" days.

My offer still stands for anyone that might still like to join me this month?
I would love to have others for support & see how your doing on your journey!

Take care everyone & here's to a successful new week ahead!

**vigilant20** · 11-09-2008, 11:42 AM

That's such a great attitude.

Once you figure out how things work for you, it'll be smooth sailing.

**chris w** · 11-09-2008, 01:14 PM

I made a great burrito with sweet potatoes and black beans.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Addicti...os/Detail.aspx

Very similar to a bean burrito but has a sweet taste and is oh so good.

**cheles2kids** · 11-10-2008, 02:34 PM

Originally Posted by chris w

I made a great burrito with sweet potatoes and black beans.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Addicti...os/Detail.aspx

Very similar to a bean burrito but has a sweet taste and is oh so good.

Chris, that is sooo funny! I just came across this recipe on Saturday and bookmarked it.
I was actually thinking it would be better with black beans instead of the kidney beans, did you make any modifications on it?

I'm so glad to get a firsthanders review though! I wonder if these would freeze well? I'm thinking they would do great!

**cheles2kids** · 11-10-2008, 02:45 PM

Okay, so I'm back on track, this week!

Mike & I had such a great day yesterday! He took me to one of my all time favorite restaurants-Moe's Southwest Grill and I got my fav.-Tofu & black bean nachos with all the fresh salad toppings that I could stand! So yum!!

Then he drove me over to Nashville to the new Trader Joe's that just opened up on the 31st of October. I was able to buy myself some really cool veg. food!
These will come in handy this week for those days that I just need something quick & simple!
I am a little aggravated though, 'cause I've been told that they have really good tofu, but I guess I overlooked it when I was there.
Actually I just ate the Pad Thai noodle & tofu bowl today for lunch and for a microwable meal, it was very tasty!

I've still not made my veggie pot pie, I just can't get motivated to make the crust. I'll probably just be lazy and buy premade ones, I already have tons of frozen veggies that I intend to use, and of course I already have veggie broth.

I want to thank Lynn, Vigilant20 for all her inspiration on the other forum!
You've given me some great ideas for freezer meals! Those are the things that I need to have on hand in order to make quickly whenever I'm feeling hungry but not in the mood to cook anything!

So yeah, depending on dinner tonight I should have at least 1 more day to add to my siggie! I'm planning on something simple, maybe some bean & cheese burritos with salad fixin's!

I am beginning to get bummed about winter though, I miss having some fresh tomaotes! I lurve tomatoes and the ones that I'm finding now just aren't that appetizing looking, kwim?

Hope everyone has a successful week & I would love to hear from others who are on this journey!

**vigilant20** · 11-10-2008, 03:12 PM

Originally Posted by cheles2kids

I want to thank Lynn, Vigilant20 for all her inspiration on the other forum!
You've given me some great ideas for freezer meals! Those are the things that I need to have on hand in order to make quickly whenever I'm feeling hungry but not in the mood to cook anything!

Awww you are very welcome. Definitely a good idea to have quick fixes on hand. And I hadn't heard about TJ's tofu before. I don't recall seeing it at my store either. But sometimes they have things tucked away in that little store.

**cheles2kids** · 11-11-2008, 08:50 AM

Well, I was able to add one more day to my siggie!
Yay me!!!! And of course the animals that I didn't eat either!

I was not in the cooking mood again last night, but I remembered that I had made some refried beans and put them into the freezer, so I went and pulled out a container and I sauteed up some green onions & peppers and shredded some cheese (not even close to becoming vegan, yet), warmed up some flour tortillas and we had bean & cheese burritos.
Fairly quick & simple.

My sinuses have been acting a bit wonky the past couple of days, ever since that bonfire on Saturday, I'm thinking the cold weather mixed with the smoke didn't help.
So quick & easy is a good thing right now.

Mike brought up a package of boneless, chicken breasts to fix tonight for dinner.
I think I might either have my roasted veggie pizza that I picked up from TJ's, or else I'll just throw me together a quick stir-fry.
See, I am learning! Planning ahead is a good thing.

I'm thinking of doing up a batch of those sweet potatoe & bean burritos this weekend, to have in the freezer to have a quick lunch or dinner. I have everything on hand, it's just a matter of getting my act together and doing it.
Once I make them, I'll post my review later on! But I'm sure that chris W is right, they sound absolutely delish, and from her review they taste that way too!

**cheles2kids** · 11-11-2008, 08:57 AM

Originally Posted by vigilant20

Awww you are very welcome. Definitely a good idea to have quick fixes on hand. And I hadn't heard about TJ's tofu before. I don't recall seeing it at my store either. But sometimes they have things tucked away in that little store.

That's interesting, Lynn. I'm pretty sure that I heard about them over at VB?
But anywho, it was almost standing room only at the refridgerated section, so if they did have it, there's no way I could have gotten to it.

Do you have a favorite tofu brand that you purchase at a regular retail store?

I do know that I tried the Nasoya, and to me it was nasty! I can't remember the brand name that my local Kroger carries, but it's the only brand that I can find around here.

I've heard that Asian markets are the way to go to find the best, freshest tofu.
But I've never been in one, so I wouldn't know how it compares to the kinda I find at Kroger?

The next time I'm out though, I'm gonna buy a couple blocks & experiment with it some more. I can never get it cooked right at home, but I haven't given up hope.
I know Madhen posted an Asian recipe last month (?) that sounds really good, and I have putting off making it because tofu scares me a little!

I love eating it out in restaurants, but I cannot figure out how to make it taste good at home? I guess it's a whole trial & error thing.