Day 16

The menu for the day is:

Breakfast:
Green Glamour Breakfast Smoothie (recipe)
Apricot Oatmeal (recipe)

Lunch:
Lentil Soup
Green Salad with Creamy Chipotle Dressing (recipe)

Dinner:
Fettuccine with Grilled Asparagus, Peas, and Lemon (recipe)
Fresh blueberries

As I'm posting this later in the day, I've actually completed today's menu plan already.

I ended up pressing the snooze button one time too many this morning and was in a bit of a rush to get to my 8 am class. The other day I found a coupon for Dole's new frozen smoothie cup (just take out of the freezer, add juice, shake, and go) and I picked on up at Krogers. I decided to take that with me this morning instead of making the odd kale smoothie on the menu, but I didn't realize when I got it that it had yogurt in it. I didn't have time for anything else and I knew I'd be hungry if I didn't take it, so I ended up drinking it anyways. We'll chalk that up to a little slip up that can be easily avoided next time. Besides, the smoothie was pretty nasty so I'd never want to get one again anyways.

I tried out Amy's brand canned soup for lunch, and it was pretty good. I didn't get to make the salad yesterday, so I tacked it onto today's menu. The can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce smelled so wonderful that I got a dollop on my finger to taste--bad idea, it was insanely spicy! One of these chipotles went into the blender with some pepper, coriander seeds, Pace mild salsa, and vegan mayo. The dressing wasn't as hot as I was fearing it would be (I scraped out the seeds before I put the pepper in the blender), but the vegan mayo did give it a rather odd flavor. I can't really describe it. Once I got used to it, the dressing really didn't make a half bad salad.

Remember that fiasco with this pasta recipe last time? No way, no how was I making that again. Instead I decided it was time to pay Chipotle a visit.

Why yes, that IS guacamole.

Portobello Fajitas

Sorry guys--I wasn't very on task today with the cooking, again! Too much homework, not enough time. The one new recipe I did get to try, however, turned out to be pretty darn good.

Portobello Fajitas

Out of pure laziness I decided to try to cook the rice in the microwave while I made the fajita filling--it was okay, but a little too gooey. I probably won't be doing that again. The fajita filling was super easy. All I did was saute onion, red pepper, portobello mushroom strips, and garlic, add some cumin and chili powder at the end, and deglaze with a bit of white wine to finish. The recipe called for just that, but I decided to get fancy with mine and put some cilantro lime rice on the fajita as well. I wanted a little freshness as well so I topped it with a bit of pico de gallo.

Like I said, it was good, but I am dreaming bigger. I'm thinking fajita burrito. Cilantro lime rice, black beans, fajita veggies, pico de gallo, and a big dollop of guacamole. You could make it a fajita burrito bowl too, skipping the tortilla and adding some lettuce. And then there is corn salsa... The possibilities are endless!

One of my favorite restaurants is Chipotle, and this is a lot like something you could get there, though I'm sure theirs is going to be 10x tastier. With all the vegan options they offer, I think I'll have to pay them a visit soon. As a quick fix at home though, this versatile recipe did the trick.

Day 5

Today didn't go quite as planned.

This morning's menu included a Breakfast Burrito, which I made along with (what was supposed to be yesterday's) a Mango Spice Smoothie. The burrito was filled with fried potato, onion, and kale, and it was quite bland. Perhaps some pico de gallo could liven it up a bit? The smoothie has the word "spice" in the name because it literally included a hot pepper. It wasn't bad, but it isn't a flavor combination that I will be using again.

Potato & Kale Breakfast Burrito

I had a lab for my Fisheries class today which didn't get out until almost evening. That, plus the fact that breakfast was very filling, contributed to the fact that I didn't have lunch today. I was actually supposed to go shopping yesterday but didn't have the time, so I didn't really have the ingredients for today's recipes anyways. I ended up going to Kroger's, but forgot to get something for tonight so I just ended up eating odds and ends like toast and hummus with cucumber. I decided to try some rather expensive vegan dark chocolate sandwich cookies from the store, which turned out to taste wonderful and made an excellent impromptu dessert.

So, sorry for the slacking--I promise to be more on track with the meal plan tomorrow!

To be honest, I'm getting a little sick of the Latin flavors. I feel like I'm getting mostly the same variations of rice and beans with salsa, and am getting bored with it. What I really want are some good Asian flavors. Where is my morning bowl of miso? There are quite a few of these types of recipes later on in the book, so I briefly considered switching around some days. I decided to be patient and just wait it out, however. I'll be happy to delve into some curry, ginger, mushroom, and rich umami flavors in a few weeks.

Due to the fact that I don't own a scale, I thought I would keep track of weight loss by taking measurements, which I recorded on day three. My reading for today asked me not to do that, so I headed out after class to purchase a bathroom scale. While testing it out in the kitchen when I returned home it read 252.8 pounds. I'm normally about 255. I'd say that 2.2 pounds in five days aren't too bad of results! I'll be weighing myself every Sunday and measuring progress that way. This is starting to get exciting!