Friday, February 26, 2010

Green Day


With the company of two fellow holistic health junkies I have been sans meat for almost 10 days, with 36 days to go. Giving up meat hasn't been too difficult because I wasn't eating much of it before the challenge. BUT it was hard not having it as a back-up when restaurant menus or the food line at our work cafeteria lacked a dairy-free option. I've noticed that most vegetarian cuisine comes with cheese. Technically I always have salad as a "go to" but that can get old quickly and a lot of the green leaf fixins at work include meat, shellfish, or cheese.

Damn!

At first glance it seemed that forgoing all animal products would be limiting. This has only been the case when picking from a list of pre-prepared food as mentioned above. I knew this meatless challenge would require a different approach to food, calling for creativity, time, attention, and preparedness in my own kitchen.

The first week's food plan has included nut butters, hemp seed smoothies, nut milks, beans with rice, and a homemade kick-ass lentil soup (I've never enjoyed leftovers so much!). While I have been eating more greens as of late I felt I could do better. So I threw on my apron and got jiggy with them.


Kale + Celery + Pear + Cucumber


Pesto + Brown Rice Pasta + Cucumber + Hemp Seed


Greens with homemade dressing: Sauteed red peppers, onion, olive oil, basil, black pepper.


Got to go and work on meal #3!

The broccoli will be joining the onions, potatoes, and aduki beans in coconut milk and curry for dinner!

What are your favorite greens?

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