Meal Planning: Chickpeas & Dumplings

Lately, dinner time has meant either one of two things: we need to go to a restaurant/get some takeout or I need to find out what I have in the freezer or fridge that I can somehow magically turn into a meal as quickly as possible. Being the proud owner of quite a few vegan and vegetarian cookbooks (see Exhibit A below), I decided to take charge of this problem by making a meal plan for the week. So this Sunday I planned out my meals, went shopping for ingredients specifically for the meals. This plan will also help us save money by 1) not eating out during the week and 2) only buying things at the grocery store that are actually needed for meals (NO impulse buys allowed!).

So, here's Exhibit A, my collection of vegan & vegetarian cookbooks:



And here's my meal plan for the week:



I'm incorporating some new recipes from The Happy Herbivore cookbook By: Lindsay Nixon and one recipe from Vegan Comfort Foods from Around the World By: Veronica Grace a.k.a. Low Fat Vegan Chef.

Both of these cookbooks happen to be written by authors who believe in the whole foods, plant-based, no oil, no added sugar healthy mindset, which is an excellent way to continue the second week of my recently refocused weight loss journey. (I lost 3 lbs. last week!)

Monday night, I made the first recipe on my plan: Chickpeas & Dumplings.  I followed the directions to the best of my abilities, but I may have added a little too much of the spices. I didn't feel like mixing together HH's Poultry Seasoning Mix because then I would have some leftover. So instead I added a teaspoon of each spice from the Poultry Seasoning Mix. Now there are only 3 teaspoons in a Tablespoon, which I didn't think about at the time, and the recipe only called for one tablespoon of the Poultry Seasoning Mix. Since there were 5 spices in the mix, that means I added two extra teaspoons of spices. It smelled very fragrant, but I will definitely use less spices next time I make it. I also added peas because for some reason, there were peas and carrots in the picture in the book, but there were none in the recipe or ingredients list.

Here's a picture from during the cooking process:

I've never had Chicken & Dumplings before, so I was a little off-put by the taste and texture of the dumplings. Maybe it's because of weird dumpling-taste or the extra spices, but this recipe was not a big hit at my house. My husband is also not a fan of chickpeas, and he told me there were "too many chickpeas".  I also wasn't entirely loving it because for some reason I was expecting the dumplings to taste more like cooked biscuits than chunks of unbaked dough. My final product turned out nothing like the picture in the book. Mine's a little goopy and brown and Happy Herbivore's picture had a whitish broth (plus the previously mentioned chunks of carrots).

I have liked every other Happy Herbivore recipe I've made before, so I will definitely be giving this recipe another try sometime in the future (with less spices) and maybe separate the mixture in half before I add the chickpeas (to appease the husband).

 

Swimming, Swimming, In the Swimming Pool!

I don't know if any of you ever went to summer camp when you were younger, but the title of this post comes from a camp song from my youth. I went to Girl Scout camp, and there were a plethora of songs sung around the campfire each night, but for some reason this one stuck with me.  The original song goes a little something like this:

Swimming, swimming, in the swimming pool,
Some days are hot, some days are not,
in the swimming pool.

However, we also sang a parody of that song that I liked better and is the one that I remember most:

Swimming, swimming, in the swimming pool,
Some guys are hot, some guys are not,
at the swimming pool!

Anyway, my original point is that I'm getting really excited about being able to swim again. I went swimming on Monday evening and again today after work, and I'm feeling really good about it.

Things I love about swimming:

1)  First of all, the endorphins. I haven't been able to do aerobic exercise lately, so this is great. It's a major mood booster!

2)  Exercise! Did I mention that I really need the exercise after several months of little to no physical activity? I've gone up a few pant sizes since February, and I'd definitely like to go back down to normal sometime in near future. Ideally, I'd like to be fitting back into my old pants and clothes by November, and I think swimming combined with more vegetables and self-control in the food department will help me reach that goal.

3)  It's a very diverse activity. I used to be a lifeguard and did swim team my senior year in high school, so I know quite a few different strokes: freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly, etc.  It doesn't get boring when you switch strokes every other lap and make use of the kickboards, pull buoys (those little odd-shaped floats you put between your legs to focus on strengthening your arms only), and flippers.

4)  It's free! The pool I go to is free to all DC residents and military families. So, I just flash my military ID and get to swim without spending a dime on membership, which is super nice, especially when you know the exorbitant price of gym membership in the DC area.

5)  I think it's helping with my post-surgery foot recovery. My foot didn't hurt as much Tuesday or today, and I'd like to credit that to my swim session on Monday night. My podiatrist actually did say swimming is great for recovery; so I'd like to think this improvement isn't all in my head

6) My pool is conveniently located next to the biggest Whole Foods in the VA-MD-DC area (that I've visited). After exercising, the Whole Foods hot bar, with labeled vegan entrees, is a welcome dinner option. They also have delicious vegan bakery options, like multiple vegan bakery options: muffins, scones, etc. It takes me about an hour to get home. So if I want to eat before 9 or 10 pm, I probably should eat some dinner before I hop on the metro. 

Aside: Whole Foods in Falls Church: Please take note and hop on labeling the vegan options on your hot bar. It would be much appreciated by your faithful customers, such as myself. And if you would offer a vegan muffin or two in your bakery section, that would be totally awesome!


Also, I would totally share a picture of myself in awesome swim gear to accompany this post.  (I treated myself to a new swim cap, goggles, and a sportier swimsuit back in July when I started getting into swimming before my surgery, so I look like a serious swimmer now.) But let's be honest: that's just a look that nobody needs to be sporting outside of the swimming pool facilities!

Why vegan?

A little background about me:
My name is Elise, and I'm currently a pescetarian (don't eat meat, but still eat some fish) for environmental and somewhat moral reasons, but mostly environmental. I've been following a pescetarian diet for about 3-4 years now. I like to run (slightly long-distances), knit, listen to music, garden, and hang out with friends. Also, I'm kind of one of those neo-hippies who prefers to buy organic and local foods, but I'm not about to get all self-righteous about it. I started this blog because I don't want to drive my friends crazy talking about how awesome being vegan is!

Why have you decided to go vegan*/ start eating a plant-based diet?
I'd like to broaden my cooking horizons and learn a little more about the vegan lifestyle in the process. (I'd also like to lose a little weight and cutting dairy out of my diet will most likely help me accomplish that.) I want to eat more nutritious whole foods and try out some new recipes. I also have many concerns about the dairy industry, and sometimes it's kind of hard to find options that fit my budget and my values.

It's also important to emphasize, for the sake of all the real vegans out there, that being vegan is more of a lifestyle than a diet. Vegans* are conscientious consumers who research the products (food, household, and everything in between) they buy to make sure they don't contain any animal byproducts and aren't tested on animals. If you want to learn more about it, I really recommend this website: Veggie Boards. They have a lot of great articles and lots of delicious recipes.

My challenge is focused on eating a more nutritious well-rounded plant-based diet. It's a temporary plan (only 90 days), but I hope I'll carry some of the habits I develop during this challenge with me when I'm done. I hope you enjoy reading about my experience, and I promise that my posts will be a little less informative and hopefully a lot more entertaining (with pictures of delicious vegan foods)!

Why 90 days?
While there actually is a 30-Day Vegan Challenge that is marketed to new vegans, (see here) I feel that a month is not enough time for what I want to accomplish (improve my eating habits and lose some weight in the process). Also, a month is easy. Anyone could go vegan for a month. Hell, Bill Clinton even does it! I'm kind of competitive by nature, so 90 days is a viable, set goal that I believe I can accomplish.

When did you start the "90-Day Vegan Challenge"?
I actually started last Monday (August 12th), but I just decided to start a blog so that I won't pester other people by constantly raving about how awesome being vegan is. (Vegan superpowers are pretty awesome, though!)
I've lost 4.6 pounds so far, which is a good amount for my size. I wasn't really fat or skinny to start with, just average. I feel awesome. Also, I've cut my running time by 30 seconds on one of my favorite routes. Best part, I can fit into my "skinny" pants again, which is awesome. I also feel pretty energetic and happy. (I've never heard that eating vegan improves your mood, so that might not be diet-related at all.)

I've also been trying out lots of exciting new recipes and discovering the joys of vegan favorites, such as nutritional yeast (nooch, for short) and green smoothies. Some of my favorite recipes so far have been: homemade kale chips smoothies, chickpea salad sammiches (I used this recipe), and zucchini fries. I plan on sharing lots of recipes and posting pictures of the dishes.

Thanks for joining me on this challenge, and I hope you enjoy reading my blog!

Update: I like eating and being vegan so much that I've decided to make it a permanent part of my lifestyle! I feel so much healthier, leaner, and better about my choices. I'm still in the process of transitioning when it comes to purchasing vegan clothing, purses, shampoos, cosmetics, and other products, but I'm learning a lot. It's surprising (in a bad way) how much we use animal materials or test on animals, but there are plenty of cruelty-free products on the market (and not just available in fancy-pants health foods stores)! There are also lots of accidentally vegan products out there, which is great. All in all, I hope you enjoy reading my transition story, recipes, etc. as much as I enjoy writing them!