Eating for Sustenance

I went to a Sales Presentation this morning with just an English Muffin and coffee under the belt. After a couple of gigantic tummy roars I excused myself and came home for lunch. I nuked the red potatoes then served them with butter and chile con queso. If you haven't tried it you are missing something.

I have a pet sitting commitment tonight so I invited a friend to join me for Chicken and Cheese Tamales from Winco's deli. Very tasty for Supermarket Fare.

Happy as a Clam

After taking Don to his post-op at Kaiser we went to Carol's Country Corner for a quick lunch. Mine was clam strips and fries. Dinner will be the leftover Meatballs with Green Cabbage.

Rustic Cheese Toast and Navy Bean Soup

For Brunch I broiled a couple slices of Rustic Bread with Cheese Dip and Parmesan Cheese. The vine ripened tomatoes were a perfect accompaniment. Lunch is leftover Navy Bean Soup with garlic, onion, carrot, mushroom and salt pork.

Navy Bean Soup

No finer day for it. Cold, dreary, nothing happening. The Navy Beans are in the crockpot with salt pork and garlic, onion, carrots and fresh curry sprigs.

Salad Day

Tonight was to be Salad night in the household but I've been given a heads up to expect a last minute invitation to dinner with friends when Allen arrives from out of town. Because of that I focused on Beets as my lunch today. Fresh from the can with a sprinkling of salt and served with Italian Style Pickled Garlic, they became an interesting fiber filled lunch. Not quite a salad, not quite an entree yet filling and healthful.

I think I am feeling the effects of my changed diet. I feel much more energetic when I focus on vegetables instead of meat.

More to follow.

Ginger Teriyaki Rice Cakes

Thanks to Morningstar Farms we had a delicious light lunch of Rice Cakes followed by Spinach Artichoke Veggie Bites.

Biscuits with potatoes and eggs started the day and it will finish with Punjab Eggplant on Orzo (leftovers from last night).

Turkey Pastrami

Very N.Y. Deli style dinner except for the baked potato and salad.

1/13/2009

The other night I forgot to post my dinner. Since it was a particularly delightful pan grilled cod I wanted to share it here. I am focusing on increasing my protein while following a mainly veggie diet. Tonight it was protein. fat and starch. The Corn and Chile Salsa is a favorite of mine from Trader Joe's. A baked potato rarely occurs in my diet. This one was quite good.

Fine me if you Must

I am not and never will be a true vegetarian. I do intend, however, to cut way back on the animal products, most specifically RED meat. That does not mean that I will NEVER again taste a cheeseburger. But I might make it with ground turkey instead of beef.

Meat in minute quantities can enhance a casserole, or a burrito, or a soup. It doesn't have to be a huge chunk in the middle of the dinner plate though.

Tonight's dinner: Cheese Cannelloni sprinkled with roasted spinach crumbles. Accompanied by a Cottage Cheese salad served on a thick slice of vine ripened tomato.

Veggie Lunch

I'd been planning scrambled eggs with fresh spinach and mushrooms for several days now. This was made with Olive Oil and butter, 3 cloves of garlic, 1 package sliced field mushrooms, 1 bunch of fresh spinach shredded and 4 large brown organic eggs whisked with 2 T skim milk, salt and pepper. Once the mushrooms were brown and the spinach was wilted I added the eggs and stirred until the eggs were soft cooked. It was a wonderful source of iron and a memorable meal.

There are several types of vegetarians today. Vegans, who are the purists of the vegetarian world and who have the most limited diet, refuse to eat all animal-derivative foods including butter, cheese, eggs and milk. Ovo-lacto vegetarians consider such animal-related foods acceptable but, of course, do not eat meat. Then there are those vegetarians who will eat fish and/or poultry, but not other animal meat. Across the board, most vegetarians prefer their food organically grown and (if they eat fish and fowl) organically fed. Vegetarians get their PROTEIN from a variety of sources, such as foods from the large family of LEGUMES.

New Restaurant? Perhaps...

***** Rating on food and Menu.

Don emailed an invitation to dinner tonight. I suggested El Presidente. Surely they have something vegetarian on the menu. Shrimp Fajitas sound very good to me but then so does Snapper Vera Cruz.

Cheddar Cheese Sandwich for my lunch. Breakfast was a toasted bagel and some chocolate from IKEA. That's hard Dark Chocolate not hot cocoa!

So far the conversion to a non meat diet is working for me. I went out the other night and had Szechuan Eggplant with Garlic Sauce and tonight I fixed Tofu and Vegetable Lasagna. The aroma didn't seem to be 'on' but these sniffles might just be a cold coming on.

For lunch I fixed enough Marinated 3 bean salad for a couple of days. I need to contain my cockiness but all looks good for the time being.

Things Aren't Always What They Seem

Not that Mexican Food is off the Menu. We chose 'Great Taste' a Chinese Restaurant tonight before a Neon Photo Shoot in downtown Vancouver.

I ate Asian Eggplant in Garlic Sauce and Hot and Sour Soup. Best eggplant I've ever tasted. The restaurant was totally empty while we were there. I hope they survive the economy. I ate one third of what they prepared so tomorrow is taken care of as well.

As for El Presidente, I haven't eaten there in the 12 years I've lived here in Vancouver. Have never seen a review for the restaurant either. Perhaps it is time to find out if I've been missing anything.

'Homemade' Cioppino

Last spring I discovered the Cioppino Soup Base that Williams and Sonoma sells for $16 per quart. It was so good that I went back for some and it was on sale - 1/2 price and enough for dinner for two nights. To the heated base I added a dozen large shrimp, a handful of frozen bay scallops, 1/3 # of true cod cut into 1 inch chunks, 2 handfuls of langoustine.

Last night Alice Thelma joined me for a bowl of hot fish chowder and some Texas Garlic Toast. Tonight I finished off the pot by myself. No time for pictures which is truly a shame. The rich red of the tomato fish stock crammed with pink shellfish was enough to tempt anyone.

Blueberry Muffins

Ever hear about the marvelous nutrients in Blueberries? Mine were baked into muffins today. I had breakfast at the Clubhouse with Susan, Cal and Lee. Conversation ranged from raising hogs and chickens to the Weed Rest Area in California to which route is most scenic from here to California to the value of nutritional analysis.

Today is dedicated to a Seafood Cioppino made almost from scratch using a Cioppino Base from Williams and Sonoma. I need to shop for the Cod and Scallops and will add the picture once supper is made.

Tropical Fruit Smoothie

THE Breakfast of breakfasts for this old lady is a Fruit Smoothie made with Trader Joe's Mediterranean Yogurt. This morning the recipe was:

• 15 oz Tropical Fruit (light syrup with Passion Fruit Juice)


• 4 oz of Med Yogurt


• Ground Flax Meal

This made 2 10 oz glasses of sweet and tart smoothie @ 325 calories per glass. A bit of saturated fat but fills the protein requirement and provides plenty of antioxidants while filling the tummy until lunchtime. Drinking it in the champagne flute provides celebratory ambience.

Flat as a Poached Egg on Toast

Used my Paula Deen Toaster this morning to fix a poached egg on buttered toast to get me started. The plan is Chili Mac for lunch and a Seafood Salad for dinner. Pictures will follow once dinnertime rolls around.

My Basic Meal Plan calls for Soup-Monday, Pasta-Tuesday, Beans-Wednesday, Salad-Thursday, Fish-Friday, feasting on the weekends. The Main Meal is midday with Soup or Salad and bread for dinner. No eating out until I see some weight loss.

I also begin a regimen today of 30 minutes on the Treadmill or Mini Stepper as daily as possible. Need to build up my stamina and lung reserve.

Enough Chili Mac for several meals

The basically vegetarian diet begins today: 1/7/2009. Eggs, cheese, meat stocks, fish will be included with the mainly plant based foods.

Tonight's dinner will be repeated since I made enough for 5 servings or so.

Haven't yet calculated the nutrients but they will be forthcoming.