Chili Relleno & Pumpkin Cupcakes

So I decided to cut out eggs from my diet, to the best of my ability. I think I would end up eating things that have eggs in the ingredients (noodles etc) but I am going to see if I can keep my foods that I prepare to be egg free. In this new outlook, I needed to find a new breakfast as I LOVE omelets. I had a pretty busy morning so I grabbed a Greek yogurt, cut up a couple strawberries, tossed some sunflower seeds on top and I was good to go. It was wonderful but wasn't very satisfying unfortunately.

 
For lunch, some friends took us to a new authentic Mexican restaurant. I LOVE chili relleno but sometimes it is prepared with meat, so I asked (and even though I speak Spanish and ASKED in Spanish, the waiter still replied in English. Little insulting. My Spanish isn't that bad!). He promised me there was no meat. Chili relleno is stuffed chili peppers with cheese, sometimes meat and sometimes veggies. My peppers were filled with cheese, spices and sauce. They were WONDERFUL! The only upset was that my lunch special also came with a taco (which wasn't mentioned by the waiter or in the menu). Usually I would enjoy the additional surprise but it was a beef taco. I was rather disappointed that I couldn't eat it but my meal was also came with simple spiced rice and fresh salsa with chips.
 
My lunch was very filling. Most likely because of the cheese and I have to admit, I did not like the heavy feeling in my stomach. I love how I feel satisfied but still light after my vegan recipes or even the vegetarian ones.
 
I spent the afternoon glued to my chair and doing homework (and mindlessly surfing the Internet). I took breaks and cut up another pumpkin I had bought and made some more roasted pumpkin seeds. I had to fight my husband for them.
 
I didn't bother eating dinner. I was too full from lunch and the afternoon snack. Still, by the evening I had all this pumpkin and had no idea what to do with it so I made vegan pumpkin cupcakes and pumpkin pie. I have never made either so it was an experiment. The pie was so bad, won’t even go into detail but the cupcakes were the best thing I have ever made in my life! I had bought a spiced cake mix, cut the water and oil in half and instead of egg I used pureed pumpkin and baked as directed. They were so light fluffy and indescribably fantastic!!!! I topped with icing and walnuts and had to stop myself after eating 2.

 
I am proud of myself that I am doing so much more cooking. I hate cooking. Have I mentioned this? I hate doing all the work and after the food is eaten, I have nothing to show for it but I am actually enjoying creating new and healthy things for myself and my family. I am also enjoying not daily going to buy greasy fast food. My wallet is a little fuller as well. I would normally spend between $5-$10 per fast food meal when I can get the ingredients for a vegan meal that would last for 3 days for $8!

Thank you to everyone that has stopped by. Have a fabulous night and remember the clocks change back tonight!

 

Already Being Discouraged

Today was eventful. This semester I received a scholarship and so today was the scholarship luncheon at the college to meet and thank the donors. This was also mantory. My donor didn't even show up! I had to get a babysitter for this and I was stuck eating soggy salad (as it was the only vegetarian food served) and making nice to a room full of people I didn't know. Mneh.

Anyways, I made up for it though and ate some very delicious foods for the rest of the night. My son brought home a small pumpkin from school and we cut the sucker up and roasted the seeds. I haven't had homemade roasted pumpkin seeds in YEARS. I dashed a little bit of creole seasoning on top and voila! Even my three year old loved them and he doesn't eat anything but cereal and french fries!

Tonight, I made myself stuffed chili peppers. I riped out the guts of them and stuffed them with a mixture of spinach, onions, tomatos, leeks and a little mozzerella. Then I rolled them in bread crumbs (most of which just fell off) and baked them. I ate them with homemade roasted pepper salsa. I also made fried plantains in brown sugar. I had these at a friends house last week for the first time and they were AMAZING so I tried it myself. They turned out ok but the plantains needed to be riper so they were a little starchy. I still have another plantain so I'll let it ripen and try again. If you have never had this, try it! The simple recipe can be found here.

 

Even if after this experiment of mine I decide to go back to eating meat, I can definately say that I am doing so much better at considering what I eat. I am more aware of the foods I put in my body and how much better I am feeling. I was so proud that even tonight while grocery shopping, my husband called and asked me to pick him up some fruit and yogurt instead of some other sugary snack. Also, right now my kids are snacking on yogurt and strawberries instead of junk.

 

I am enjoying how I am feeling and I know that there is so much more a person can do. A friend of mine was actually pretty discouraging to me yesterday when I was telling her about how I was choosing to eat. She said that there was basically no point as all our foods are chemically modified anyway, meat or no meat so there is no reason to even try. Then she told me how much it bothers her when vegans and vegetarians act like they are far superior in how they live their lives in that they eat sooooo much healthier and "they are all know-it-alls". I do have vegan/vegetarian friends who do push their ideals on others but some that don't. I think if I can keep this up, I will want to share with others how I feel but now I wonder about how my choces might effect my friendships.

 

I have so much to learn about and decide how I want to live my own life. For now, I am going to enjoy my full tummy and clean conscience. Nighty night cyber world!

Lazy Cooking

It's been a long day. My kids had an early release from school and had to take my son to the doctor because of an ear infection, I went grocery shopping and helped sit with my grand-mother-in-law who is elderly and can't leave her bed so she needs family to stay with her at all times. I still kept up with the vegetarian diet.

I mentioned how I had an egg wrap for breakfast. I am leaning towards cutting out eggs from my diet. It does hurt my conscience but they are yummy. I have need to find an equally yummy and easy breakfast if I am going to cut out my favorite breakfast.

It's a good thing I had a breakfast today. I usually don't have the time. I ended up missing lunch as I was dealing with getting to the doctor and so forth.

By the time I got home, it was 6:30pm and I was shaking. I made my family rice and chicken that they said was bland since I didn't taste-test it. I guess I need to find new ways to cook tasty foods for them if I wont be testing it as I cook. I made myself kale chips (kale coated in oil and seasoned with dill and garlic salt then baked) and a salad. I was too worn out to try and think of anything more elaborate. My salad turned out great, consisting of mainly parsley, spinach, tomato and red onion with lemon juice as the dressing.

 

For dessert, I had found this great vegan brownie in a mug recipe on Pinterest that literally takes 15 minutes to make. So good and worth it!

While getting my son's prescription at Publix, I wandered around to see what new and exciting foods  could find. They have such a fun variety of their Greenwise products! I settled for organic green beans and leeks. Can you believe I have never eaten leeks? I'll be looking up recipes tonight for tomorrow to experiment with my new food.

For now I am off to research. Thanks for stopping by! Good night world <3

Breakfast vs Conscience

One definite problem I am finding is that I have to grocery shop a LOT! My daughter loves this new lifestyle of mine because she already eats like a rabbit but now there is nothing left for me. Have I mentioned that I hate grocery shopping? Too many people in my way and I always have kids with me who whine "I want I want I want". Mneh! Also, our area really does not cater to a vegan/vegetarian life. There is a small 1 ft by 2 ft section in the fruits and veggie area of Wal-Mart for vegetarian/vegan foods and that is IT! I don't live in a small city, only a small minded one. We have a Fresh Market in the next town over and realistically it isn't that far away. I need to get over my laziness. Unfortunately, I won’t have time to make the drive until maybe Monday.
 
Well, anyway. I just finished my breakfast. I made egg whites with spinach, salsa, sour cream and onions wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla. I had to eat something. Most days I just have coffee but I noticed that the little bit of wine I had last night made me nauseous this morning. I needed something substantial on my stomach. I didn't have too much to drink. I wonder if my diet has changed how my body reacts to alcohol? Maybe I had more then I thought I did *tee hee

I never planned to cut out eggs and milk from my diet (yet?!) but I have to say that my conscience is bothering me. I wanted to start this because I am so appalled with the horrible treatment of animals for consumption and what makes eggs any different? I am less upset with the milk products because it's a product from animals and not the animals themselves. Besides my husband and one son are lactose intolerant so we have soy and almond milk in our home.We do still eat cheese. Yes, I am aware of how the cows are treated to be able to make milk products but I need to draw the line somewhere, right? However, eggs are essentially baby chickens! I have a very strong opinion against abortion at any stage of development and so isn't eggs kind of the same thing? Babies in the earliest stage of development? I really I need to think this one over a bit more and decide where I stand.

Thanks for stopping by and reading about my breakfast and conscience lol. Have a fabulous day!