Playing around with recipes, I came up with a pear/blackberry coffee cake using Pamela's Gluten Free Baking Mix. I must say it is pretty delicious! 
We decided to eat a vegetarian diet for one week. If everyone can stay on board, we just might change our life style. (so far grandma is not too happy about going meatless, she can cook some in her own kitchen if she needs meat! )
Two days in, I have made a veg pizza with fresh tomatoes, mushrooms and pickled hot pepper. Big hit! Yesterday we had Alfredo with sauteed summer squash, zucchini, mushrooms, garlic and onions. Another hit! For snacking we made seven layer Mexican dip, yum! Today it's stir fry with tofu. I've even got Brad to help with the cooking! Wow!!! He does grill in the summer. Umm... what do vegetarians grill? So far we haven't missed meat at all. Caleb is all for it, Noah is not to keen about all the veggies but he's hanging in there. Autumn has been on a trip this weekend, she'll be my toughest customer when she gets home.
If you have any great veggie meal ideas please share them, I need all the help I can get! I figure if I keep making really good tasting food the family will be more apt to stick to it. I really need to put more effort into making healthier meals for our family. The more I learn about how animals are treated and killed for meat, the more my heart tells me that I have to stop eating these poor creatures. It's time I start listening to my heart.
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Reading Treasures!
We came across some Classic tale published in comic book form. Noah loves them! He's read Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island and is now reading Kidnapped by Stevenson. I figure until Noah is old enough to handle reading the originals, these are great! We also read U.S. President's feats and foul-ups. Very entertaining.
10 comments:
Hey Anet...on what to grill as a vegetarian (we were veg. for 18 years and then were convinced to add local poultry and fish back into our diet), we usually relied on the soy standbys, especially for bbqs with other folks. MorningStar Farms makes the Griller, which grills up great. Quorn makes all kinds of mycoprotein goodies, of which the Naked Cutlets grill up really well, especially with some sauce or marinade. The LightLife Smart Dogs are by far the best no-meat dog and it grills well. Otherwise, crockpot veggie baked beans, corn bread, veggies on the grill, salads, and desserts made up the rest of our menus for summer eating.
Are you thinking veggie for a particular reason? Just curios.
We grill up lots of veggies. Corn grills well. I have some recipes I can get to you. Look for an email or post on my blog.
Hey Amy,
Thanks for all the tips!
One thing I've noticed and LOVE is that cooking vegetarian is so much faster. No meat to deal with, I love it! It's just been weighing heavy on my heart lately about eating animals. Caleb shows me things he finds on the Internet like horrible slaughter houses and the conditions of caged animals. Ugh! He's been wanting to go veg. for a long time and pretty much he is. I didn't eat red meat for about 6 years. Just chicken, turkey and some tuna. I don't like fish much. I might choose to eat poultry, so I can keep the kids on board. Local free range only, same for the eggs. Is there a name for people who don't red meat but still eat poultry?
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Thanks Tara, looking forward to it!
I was a vegan for many years and we only incorporated meat back into our diet that is local and from farmers we *KNOW* (organic/pasture raised, free range, treated with kindness, etc.). I think that if we had to move back to a city or area where I couldn't get my meat this way and didn't know exactly who it came from, that we might not buy it any more. We even get our milk, cheese and eggs only from local farmers we know too. Best way to go!
We still are mostly veg during the summers. We grill everything - onions, zucchini, squash, tomatoes, asparagus, radicchio, peaches, pineapple. Yum.
I don't mind some of the alternatives:: TVP is good for making chili, and we like veggie burgers and boca burgers. Yum.
I'm impressed with the efforts you're putting into your family's food, wow. I confess I am not that motivated, but when we eat well, we really feel better. I need to remind myself that preparing food is meditative and enjoyable. I'll let you know if we come across any great veg recipes.
Man, you have some openminded kids! My poor Lo would starve....
Enjoyed the post and fun to see the reading treasures. My oldest son is a vegetarian so when we have a big group get together like we did this weekend, we always have to take him into consideration. I made lots of Mexican food, but for him, veggie refried beans, in flour tortillas mixed with cheese and onions, then kind of fried in oil for a crisp tortilla, like a flauta. The rest had homemade chicken flautas, pork carnitas tacos, refries, mexican rice and salad. It was yummy.
I was a vegetarian for a very long time and like Denise eat just a little very local and humanely raised meat, I have to know the farmers if I am going to eat any animal, with very limited exceptions. I think people who occasionally eat meat but are mostly vegetarians are called "flexitarians", in answer to your question in the comments.
Don't forget in the summer to find all those great veggies at your local farmers markets!!
Hi Denise,
Tonight I made tofu chili, it was really good. We didn't even miss the meat. So far Brad, Caleb and myself are doing well with our veggie week. Noah has not been to happy with all the vegetables. We got him to eat some salad today!!!
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Thanks Ruth:)
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Hey RunninL8, I was worried about Noah but he's trying.
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HI Sandy, that's sweet that you take in consideration your son's eating choice. The flautas sound good!
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Hey Lisa Anne,
Thanks for the answer. I like that, flexitarians!
Yep, we shop at the local neighborhood farmer's market in the spring through the fall. I post a yard sign to advertise for them.
Our CSA is through MSU and there is a waiting list to join! So we are not members. But they do have a little corner market in the summer. We also have the downtown City Market, (which we love!) that's open all year. With local farmers. That's where we'll buy our chicken (when we want it) and eggs from now on.
Oh yes and our grocery store offers organic beef, I don't think it's local though. I'll have to scout around for some local beef.
We are flexitarians here! No red meat in almost 14 years except for a very, very occasional steak or ground beef burger(like once every few YEARS). We do eat turkey and chicken, the kind without the injections, and fish now and then.
As far as grilling, you can grill almost any vegetable and it will turn out great!! We do pineapple slices, mushrooms, onions, peppers, squashes, you name it!!
I'm not much for the "fake" meats, too much sodium in them for me, but tofu is a good stand-in for some.
Molly
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