What's For Lunch?

This is a picture of everything I ate between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. yesterday.  I had the banana and pear with a cup of black coffee for breakfast.  The sweet potato, veggie stir fry and Quinoa salad for lunch and the pear for a snack. The potato, stir fry and Quinoa were packed in a small Tupperware container and I liked the way it looked so I left it like that, stuck a fork in it and took a picture for you.  I wound up taking the nectarine home with me.
     I weighed in today and I'm down 55 lbs since 1/1/2014!
This was a great lunch.
The veggies are onion, garlic, carrot, celery, fresh ginger, tomato, pineapple, habanero pepper, basil, oregano, romaine lettuce all chopped and stir fried in HOT olive oil with a dash of Kosher salt, Red Wine Vinegar and a couple dashes of Soy Sauce.
     The sweet potato was just that with nothing in it.
The Quinoa is one cup dry, 2 cups of water, a little chopped celery, onion and garlic with a dash of salt. Bring it to a boil, turn down the heat, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes.
OH!  I almost forgot!  I let the stir fry simmer for about 5 minutes so the liquid would settle.  Then I strained out the liquid in a bowl and added it to the Quinoa for extra flavor.
Add some Sriracha sauce to the Quinoa for a real kick!
Let me know how it turned out.

6 Months A Vegan!

Its been 6 months already!  I feel great and I'm doing things without pain that I haven't been able to do for years.  That 50 lbs. that I lost is still lost.  My rope skipping has improved to the point that the count is over 100 without a miss.  Push ups, swimming and bicycle riding are all for fun now instead of hard work.  My waist line went from a 44 at its max down to a 38 now.  I can get into size 36 with a little effort, but I'm comfortable in the 38's.  The food just keeps getting better as I learn more about seasoning and cooking in general.  Quinoa has become a staple in my diet.  Its quite versatile.  That's what I was playing with this week and the results have been fabulous!  Here's one with portobella mushrooms and Sriracha sauce with melted Daiya Cheddar Style cheese.  I love this stuff!

I know, right?  Nice as a side dish.

Today for lunch, as my associates were eating ribs and chicken from Famous D's, I had my own thing going.

This time I used Quinoa with garlic, onions, mango, yellow bell pepper, tomato, bok choy, curry, white pepper, soy sauce, turmeric, jalapeno and paprika with orange slices.  

Oh My!  No complaints from me!  I'm stuffed!  Sweating too!  Spicy!!!

Your turn.  Release your inner Vegan!!!

I'd rather say I have my wish than say I wish I had.  Right now my wish is to eat healthy like my friend, Dr. Joel Kahn, the Vegan Cardiologist, rather than see him in a few years with chest pain.  Ain't nobody got time for that!

Reluctantly Vegan: Pictures! Down 50 lbs in less than 6 months!

Reluctantly Vegan: Pictures! Down 50 lbs in less than 6 months!

Pictures! Down 50 lbs in less than 6 months!

Here's me at my friend's sons wedding when I was not a Vegan:

This is me 50 lbs lighter with a Vegan diet:

That's my skeptical look.  I can't believe it either!  

Yesterday I pulled out my old leather jump rope and skipped it like Sugar Ray.  That should have KILLED my right knee, but there was no pain at all!

Release your inner Vegan!  

Let me know if I can help.  

(Skipping off into the sunset to the tune of Pharrell's "Happy"!)

Vegan Tortilla Casserole

Vegan Tortilla Casserole

Salad With Mango Cherry Dressing

     I really have to get more consistent about writing down my recipes.  The salad is just as good as the casserole and I'm not 100% sure of what I put in either one.  It was a euphoric cooking frenzy with spectacular results and some nice feedback from family at our Father's Day BBQ.  Even better feedback from office staff, one of whom said if she got this at a restaurant she'd definitely come back.  High praise indeed!

     Now that I have a few followers in Mexico I have a question.  Corn kernels or no corn kernels in the tortilla?

     Grammy who is proud to be 80 years old and born in San Antonio said the flavor is very good but authentic Mexican cooking does not include corn kernels...and next time put in garlic.  

I mixed my own spices, created a substitute for sour cream out of avocado, used red Quinoa instead of ground beef and used Vegan Cheese alternative with no push back.  Leave out the corn, add garlic and some oregano was the extent of the corrections. She made sure I was using corn tortillas and I passed on that part.   Pretty darn good for a first try.  (I was going for a taco casserole but landed on tortilla for the win.)

     So seriously.  Corn kernels or not?  I need some feedback.     

Before and After pictures.

Me on a meat diet:

Me on a vegan diet for 5 months:

Any questions?

5 Months a Vegan! Garlic Mashed recipe.

Garlic Mashed

I've been a vegan for 5 months now and feel great!  I've lost 45 pounds and 6 inches from my waist.  Now I'm starting to exercise a little.  There is a pool here, 25 meters long, and I've been swimming 10 laps twice a week. Its a start.  My kids promised to replace the bent rim on my bicycle for Father's Day so I can start doing that too.  This is the sort of activity I used to do regularly in High School and College, but sadly, I let it drift away.  Guess what?  I lost several chins!  I'M BACK!!!!

Me 2 months ago.

Me NOW!  I have a neck! 

So here's the recipe:

6 cloves of toasted garlic

1/2 Cup of dry Quinoa

2 potatoes 

1/4 tsp Kosher salt

1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp Paprika 

1 tsp Soy Sauce

6 TBS Extra Virgin olive oil

1.5 cups of water.

Boil the potatoes until ready to mash.  Cook the Quinoa per package directions.  Toast the garlic.

Put everything, including the water in a food processor or blender and grind it up to the desired texture.  Add more water if its too thick.  I got a new Ninja and I almost burned it out until I realized how much water this dish needed.

This can be a side dish or an appetizer.  Veggies go great with this, but its good on its own.

Enjoy!