Meatless May - Week 1

Wow!  I have had some AMAZING food these last few days!  I ended up starting “Meatless May” a day early; and a full week in, I love it!  I haven't had any real cravings for meat or anything, nor have I found my self feeling starved all day.  After a week, I still don't think I want to become a vegetarian forever, but I do think at this end of this month I will continue to eat significantly less meat and more vegetables than usual.

Is it easy to go Meatless?

My biggest challenge so far has been time management.  As I said in my last post, I'm living with my parents at the moment, so I'm not used to cooking dinner every night of the week.  By the time I get home from work, it's usually about 6 o'clock and I'm getting hungry, so the last thing I want to do is slave away in the kitchen for 2 hours before I get a chance to eat.  So far, I've been doing okay though!  I've planned out meals ahead of time and done my grocery shopping ahead of time, so when I get home, I know exactly what I need to do and have able to get it done in a reasonable amount of time.  I've also accepted that I need to be flexible.  I have a few quick easy vegetarian dinners handy so that if I get stuck working late or am especially tired or stressed one evening, I don't have to cook.  I have a few vegetarian lean cuisines, veggie burgers, fresh fruits and veggies, etc. that I can eat instead, and then I just push my planned meal to another day of the week!

So what have I been eating?  

This isn’t a “daily food journal” because that would be boring, so I am not listing every single thing I eat.  I’m sure you’ve all eaten a PB&J or a carrot before in your life, so if I eat that, it’s not very exciting for you to read about now is it?  I will, however, post an overview of any recipes or new vegetarian foods I've tried each week.    

Tuesday

I was working from home on Tuesday, so I decided to take the opportunity to try one of the Veggie Dogs I bought at the store this week for lunch.  The verdict?  Yum!  Compared to a normal hot dog, they are not quite as firm, but still very hot-dog-like.  The flavor was about the same, but maybe a bit stronger… it actually tasted more like meat than a real hot dog does.  As far as nutrition goes, you really can’t beat it – fewer calories, less fat, and more protein!

For dinner, I made homemade Quinoa Stuffed Peppers along with leftover black bean and corn salad and fresh avocado… amazing!  I will have another post soon with the full recipes, but look at how yummy this looks!!  **Recipe now posted!**

Wednesday

When I made my stuffed peppers, I made extra quinoa to have as leftovers, so I had this and some frozen veggies for lunch.  The quinoa re-heated nicely in the microwave, but I did add just a little water first to keep it from drying out.

Portobello mushrooms with marinara sauce are a staple in my house ever since my mom started trying to cut out carbs again.  The mushrooms with a slice of fresh bread and a nice salad make a great vegetarian meal; and for the meat eaters in my family, we have turkey meatballs too!

Thursday

Thursday was a rough day right from the start – I overslept and didn’t have time to pack a lunch.  Then Work was chaotic so I couldn’t go out to lunch for a sit-down lunch that might have some vegetarian options.  So I ended up making a quick run to taco bell to pick up bean burritos to bring back to my desk.  It wasn’t ideal, but it’s vegetarian, quick, and cheap, so it works out okay I guess. 

I had planned on cooking spaghetti squash with some other veggies for dinner, but ended up leaving work 45 minutes later than usual and definitely not in the mood to cook a big meal.  So instead, I heated up some Morningstar veggie burgers from the freezer.

Now let me tell you; I’ve always been skeptical of veggie burgers.  To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of ground beef to begin with so I’m not big on burgers in general.  The only non-meat burgers I’ve really been exposed to are black bean burgers, which also never appeal to me because they are usually seasoned to be a bit spicy.  But seriously, I wish I’d tried veggie burgers years ago!  I’m sure every veggie burger is different, but these are AMAZING!!  I didn’t even grill them – just popped them in the microwave for three minutes!  It didn’t taste anything like a typical beef patty, but it had a ton of flavor!  There were some visible pieces of carrots and peppers in the patty, and you could really taste the flavor of the peppers  (sweet, not spicy), and there had to have been some herbs and seasoning added to it, because this was the most flavorful burger I’ve ever had! 

I could seriously go on about these for ages!  Actually, don’t be surprised if there’s a whole post devoted to them later!

Saturday

I finally had a chance to make my Spaghetti Squash!  I had spaghetti squash mixed with some saute'ed mushrooms and aspragus and a can of diced tomatoes... Overall, I would say it was good, but I don't recommend it as an entire meal.  With just a light olive oil sauce and the other veggies, the texture of the spaghetti squash was weirding me out after too much of it.  I will definitely be doing more with spaghetti squash in the future, but not making it my main dish.  

Monday

I had some amazing roasted vegetables - potatoes, mushrooms, and asparagus - with a touch of olive oil and rosemary.  Along with carrots and a salad topped with feta and almonds... delicious!  The rest of my family ate the same thing, but had a rotisserie chicken with it, so everyone was happy!  I was still a teensy bit hungry after dinner, so I had a small container of yogurt for dessert.