I've made it to Day 2 of my personal Vegetarian Challenge. Impressed? Yeah, I know. It's only the second day but I've eaten 8 different fruits and vegetables today and that's pretty darn good! I began the day with a bowl of steel cut oats with half a sliced banana and a cup of coffee. Not very exciting, but delicious and filling when the day is starting at 6 am!
Stoneyfield Organic French Vanilla Yogurt with blueberries. Carrots & cucumbers with chipotle hummus. Green smoothie with frozen strawberries & unsweetened almond milk.
Lunch left me feeling full but without a weighed down feeling which was very nice. Until I got struck with the most sudden burst of hunger. One moment I was fine and then the next I was ravenous. It didn't let up until I had a snack of a banana smeared with a a tablespoon of crunchy peanut butter. Yum!
Local, sweet corn on the cob sans butter. Vegan 'Cheese' & Broccoli Whole Wheat Pasta Bake. Homemade Vegan Black Bean burger with fresh baby greens on a mini whole wheat bagel.
I have mixed feelings on dinner. As it happened, it was completely vegan which was unintentional but not necessarily undesirable. The corn was amazing; so sweet that the only thing needed was a sprinkling of sea salt. The pasta had a vegan 'cheese' sauce poured over whole wheat pasta and broccoli florets. This was the part of the meal that gave me pause. First, I couldn't get past just how the 'cheese' was made and I kept thinking about it. Secondly, the sauce had a quantity of prepared mustard in it that was a little too much for my liking. I dislike mustard and rarely find it has a place in anything. There! I said it....and I'm not sorry. Thinking about this dish, I have realized that it was my personal tastes that affected my opinion of it. My husband and both my children--even the picky one!--ate it right up.
But....oh my! The Vegan Black Bean Burgers by Emily at Daily Garnish was amazing. This will be my go to recipe for veggie burgers from here on out. I especially like how you can vary the spices (and beans) to create different flavors of veggie burgers. This time I followed the recipe exactly and had a slighty sweet and just a touch of spicy burger. When the kids aren't home sometime I'm sure I'll kick up the spices. The recipe isn't complicated to follow and the patties come together with ease. I took her advice and finished them up on the grill and they didn't fall apart at all unlike so many store-bought veggie burgers. Try it and you won't be disappointed.
I had one final and unexpected 'hunger burst' and pulled out a handful of carrots and a bit more of that delicious chipotle hummus to snack on. I'm not exactly sure why I have gotten these bursts because I feel I did well keeping a good balance between staying within my calorie level, carbs, proteins and healthy fats but upon entering everything into SparkPeople and running a daily report it has come back that my ratio was a little off because my proteins and fats were a little low. It's actually probably better than if I wasn't doing this Vegetarian challenge which makes these hunger bursts extra perplexing. But I've thought about it and I've come up with a theory:
Fruits and veggies are like Chinese Food. They fill you up and then just a couple of hours later you are mysteriously starving.
