Vegan Week

After Gillian's Detox Day, the plans for the rest of the week didn't include gorging ourselves on pizza and chips (although we may have thought about it the next morning). After the detox/cleanse, we wanted to eat mostly raw foods, vegan style. We made a "No" list and a "Yes" list for foods that we would and wouldn't eat. On the "no" list: alcohol, caffeine, cooked oil (we can have olive, safflower, and flax seed oil raw), margarine, sugar, salt, processed food and carbs, preservatives, meat, fish, eggs, dairy. Things we can eat: fresh fruit and veggies, whole grains, beans, legumes, seeds, raw nuts, spices, herbs, uncooked oils. We were going to eat this way for one week, with the only break being my office Christmas party on Saturday for dinner and then back to vegan on Sunday.

I tried to document a lot of what we ate during the week so I'll run through what I have with you. The weather has started to get colder and C's needed something warm for dinner. The potassium broth just didn't cut it for us and since we were not adding salt to anything, I found some miso paste in the fridge and decided to make a quick soup for us. Miso is just a soybean paste and can be found in most grocery stores or Asian markets. Chopped celery, organic carrots and mushrooms, added to 4 cups of boiling water with 4 Tbsp of miso paste whisked in until dissolved and we had ourselves a warm, salty, comforting treat. I have made this again during our vegan week and a handful added raw spinach to the soup the second time. Thanks to a friend of mine for that idea.

Miso soup ingredients

Miso soup

 Dinner the night after the cleanse and we decided to bend our rules a little and allow the vegetables to be cooked. We didn't have any spinach or lettuce so we sauteed some swiss chard and mushrooms and added raw cherry tomatoes for a salad. We used a little flax seed oil and lemon juice as dressing. Beets and sweet potatoes were a filling side dish after being lightly roasted in the oven. We cooked them on parchment paper without any oil. When the colourful veggies came out of the oven, I put them into an aluminum prep bowl and added a Tbsp of safflower oil then stirred to coat. A little pepper to season them and done. I had made red lentils for a side but when I reheated them, I cooked them for too long so they dried out. Vegan dinners can be surprisingly filling and satisfying. We were both pretty pleased with the flavour, texture and taste.

Hearty vegan dinner

 Since I was craving something sweet but couldn't have any sugar or chocolate, I thought that a crisp might be nice. My mom apparently used to add zucchini to her apple crisps. Peeled and chopped, they look and feel very similar to apples. Since I had lots of zucchinis, I thought this would be an appropriate time to give it a whirl. Peeled and chopped zucchini and apple were mixed with a couple sliced bananas. I liberally sprinkled the whole mix with cinnamon and scattered a handful of rolled oats on top. The crisp was baked in a 400F oven until everything was soft and the spicy aroma escaped from the oven. The crisp was pretty good but apparently what helps disguise zucchinis in an apple crisp is the sugar. C thought the veggie in the crisp was weird, but I didn't mind it. Sure, this would have tasted great with some vanilla ice cream, but the baked banana was so sweet that this dessert curbed my sugar craving.

Apple, zucchini and banana crisp

 With my pulled back, I had to take a break from the gym since I was still having a really hard time bending down or twisting. The pain finally began subsiding around Thursday so I decided to give some light exercise a try. I told C that I was heading to the gym after work. When I pulled into the parking lot, my phone rang, it was C, asking how the gym went. "I just got here, I worked a bit late." C was craving pizza. Badly. "I'm really wanting a pizza. I think I am going to order pizza tonight..." ACK, NO! Intervention! Since I wasn't home to quickly whip something up or distract him, I was helpless except for texting. I let him know that my workout would be quick and to hold on until then. A long reassuring pep talk text and I hopped on the treadmill to try out my back. Walk, jog, walk, repeat. The whole time, my brain is whirling. How can I make C pizza without making a pizza? I couldn't use cheese or bread. Think think think. Ok, what could I use as a crust? Well, C really likes the eggplant parmesan I make so eggplant sliced lengthwise would work. Toppings...what makes a pizza a pizza? Onion, green pepper, pepperoni... I decided to go with chopped onion, green pepper, red pepper, mushrooms, and since I couldn't use meat, I would try some vegetarian salami. Cheese is a no-no, so vegan cheese could work.

Ok, I had a plan. I finished my workout and texted C that I was leaving the gym and would be home soon. He still hadn't ordered pizza but the clock was ticking for sure. I told him to figure out my Kindle, look up some things online, do something to keep his mind occupied and his body out of the kitchen. I had the speediest shower ever and bolted to Superstore. I ran around as fast as I could, collecting my ingredients then sped home (oktexted C from Superstore: "I have a plan. Chop 1 onion and preheat the oven to 375F".

As soon as I got home, I dropped the grocery bags, hugged my husband and got to work.

I sliced the eggplant lengthwise and baked them until a little soft. I pulled them out of the oven and flipped them. I bought some vegetarian bolognese sauce and spread that over the slices.

eggplants with pasta sauce

 C is my super chopper and he got to work on the onion and peppers while I worked on pitting the fresh olives that I bought for the side salad. A sprinkling of all the toppings and some fresh basil and now the "pizzas" were ready for their vegan experimental portion.

vegan "pizzas" naked

 I went down the aisle in Superstore where the tofu and fresh noodles are since I know all of the other vegetarian meat and cheese substitutes are there. I picked up a pack of Yves vegetarian salami and some Daiya dairy free cheese. I had never tried either so I had my fingers crossed that these would taste alright. True, they likely have preservatives and added salt, but this still won over Pizza Hotline showing up at the door.

fake cheese and salami

 I chopped the salami rounds into smaller pieces and added a little bit of cheese.

before baking

 The "pizzas" went into the oven to bake until the fake cheese got bubbly, if it was going to bubble, and brown.

finished eggplant veggie pizzas

 Two slices served with a fresh spinach salad with olives, tomatoes and some balsamic vinegar and we had ourselves quite a nice vegan dinner. The "pizzas" actually tasted really great. I would forgo the vegan cheese since it tasted watery to me, but upon further tests, it needed to be baked for longer to really firm and crisp up. The salami was actually very good. Spicy in flavour and the texture was very similar to that of meat salami.

While it wasn't gooey cheesy crusty pizza, this meal hit the spot for my husband and the pizza crisis was averted. I would definitely make this again, and for company. It definitely goes to show that necessity is the mother of invention.

"pizza" dinner to the rescue!

 Lately, our house as been home to numerous spaghetti squash. C brought one home a couple times after grocery shopping, thinking that I could make something with it and now with the vegan diet, I was looking to keep the Italian flavours going so this little squash was going to become my non-pasta "spaghetti". 

Prepping a spaghetti squash is easy. Cut the sucked in half, carefully as keeping all your fingers is likely important to you. Scoop out the seeds and stringy sticky insides and toss them away. Brush the cut side with oil and place the halves face-down onto a parchment covered baking pan. Pop them into a 400 F preheated oven and bake them for about 50-60 minutes.

spaghetti squash

 Since there were leftovers from the pizza the night before, I decided that I would use them all up to make a meatless bolognese sauce for the "spaghetti". Chopped onion, green pepper, red pepper, mushrooms, basil, pasta sauce and Yves Italian flavoured ground round all got mixed together in a pot to simmer.

Mighty meaty meatless sauce ingredients

 After sauteing the onion, I added the ground round. This is a fake ground beef substitute and is vegetarian.

"meat"

 The colourful veggies came next and were all mixed in together. Looking back, I would maybe saute all of the vegetables beforehand, but I enjoyed the crisp vibrant bite they gave.

sauce taking shape

 Mushrooms and sauce last and the bolognese is really looking great. Could you tell by this photo that the sauce is meatless? I don't think I could.

finished meatless meat sauce

 While my sauce was simmering, the squash was ready to come out of the oven. The flesh was soft and the shell was very hot. I put on one oven mitt and grabbed my spaghetti squash fork. Yes, I have a specific fork that I use for this. It's longer and sturdier than the rest of the forks and I love using it for food prep. The secret to releasing the strands from the squash is to scrape down the inside with a fork. The flesh will peel away from the shell in thin spaghetti like strands, like magic.

baked squash

 I divided up some of the squash into a bowl and topped it with a generous portion of the "meat" sauce. An easy vegan Italian dinner. Filling and hot. C loved this!

Mock spaghetti and meat sauce

 With so much leftover, I packed this up in Tupperware and we would have enough for a couple lunches at work. Perfect!

leftovers never go to waste

 Another quick meal we ate used up the leftover beets and sweet potato. When I made them for the first meal, I peed and cubed all of what we had but just baked half. The rest went into a large Tupperware. The next night, it was very quick and easy to just dump the contents onto a pan and bake them while we made the rest of dinner. Kale is one of those vegetables that I don't know quite what to do with. I can't stand it raw, at least not how I have had it so far. To me, the texture is like bark. Hard, dense, fibrous and hard to chew. Cooked, it gets easier to eat but I am still unsure. So, I decided to give baking it a try. I've ready many recipes on baked kale chips so decided I'd do something similar. I baked the leaves in the oven until the edges were crisp then stripped them from their stalk. The salad was topped with raw zucchini and lemon juice with a little black pepper and done!

save prep time by chopping more than you need

 Today is Monday. One day after our week of vegan eating. We are reintegrating foods into our diet but still trying to make really healthy food choices. Today, I chose to continue eating vegan. Breakfast was a banana and strawberry fruit smoothie made with almond milk. An apple and pear as a snack, as well as raw pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Lunch was leftover miso soup and spaghetti squash bolognese. I went to the gym after work to see what my back could handle and did the elliptical for about 45 minutes. When I got home, I was hungry but wanted to prep some food as well. 

While these burgers are certainly not vegan, they are vegetarian but have just enough cheese to keep C happy. One can of rinsed navy bean, one small onion, 1/2 cup marble cheese shredded (I just used what we had left), banana peppers, 6 Tbsp bread crumbs, 1 eggs, all chopped and coarsely blended in a food processor. I shaped them into patties and they are in the fridge now, ready for tomorrow's dinner with a nice spinach salad on the side.

It's late. 11:36pm. I'm showered from the gym, C's tubed and in bed. Time for me to put Mrs B in her box and join him. Goodnight friends, and thanks for reading.