Pumpkin Pancakes, Hummus and a sincere THANK YOU

I have learned, and am continuing to learn that natural food is so flavorful and amazing! The greasy, charred burgers at fast food places offer nothing but a plastic taste and clogged arteries.

I didn't have a chance to update yesterday how my vegetarian diet went. I had a huge test in my economics class and so I spent my free time hitting the books (I made an 80%! Considering the class average was 71, I'm happy).

We have SO much pumpkin cut up and I really have no idea what to do with it all. If you have any good and simple pumpkin recipies, please let me know about it in the comments below. I made pumpkin pancakes for breakfast yesterday. My 3 year old, picky eater ate it UP! I made mine topped with cranberries and agave nectar. The pancakes were so fluffy it was almost maddening how great they turned out. Then the cranberries were a perfect mix. The tart berries with the very sweet pancakes and agave made it such a unique and heavenly flavor. This may be one of the most exciting things I have made so far.

I ate breakfast late so I wasn't in the mood for lunch and I was rushing to class around dinner time so I just chowed down on some pita chips and hummus that I had recently found on a grocery trip. The hummus was seasoned with jalapeno and cilantro. It was a perfect mix. It wasn't too spicy and the hummus wasn't chalky like other brands I have tried. I definitely recommend Pita Pal Organic Hummus!

After class, I came home and my husband had made spaghetti and tomato sauce for himself and the kids. He saved me a bite (literally) which helped with the ravenous hunger and then ate some more of my pita chips and hummus. Exciting day, I know.

So far today I made myself an AMAZING breakfast of mozzarella cheese with spinach, red onion, avocado and a little parsley mixed together, heated and wrapped whole wheat tortilla then eaten with homemade roasted pepper salsa. WOW! I have always liked avocado in a variety of foods but could never just cut it up and eat it plain. Still, it was the best addition to my meal. My breakfast was so creamy and flavorful that I honestly forgot to take a picture of it for you all as I couldn't stop eating. If you are looking for ways to add more natural foods to your diet, try avocado. It isn't a strong flavor but the creamy texture makes a simple food that much better.

Now, I wanted to thank everyone that has come to this simple blog of mine. I see the statistics and I know there is a good many that come and read about my silly journey of finding a healthier way to live. This blog is probably not the most exciting thing you can read about in your day but it is important and exciting for me and because of that, I am so thrilled to be sharing it with you. Thank you so much for stopping by!

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!