Discussion Board

It has been hot and humid here this past week, but it may cool down a little this coming week. I am trying to plan my food for this week and am running low on ideas. I have some bean burgers in the fridge chilling to cook tonight, but need another entree type dish to cook today to eat on all week. I am just in the mood to try something new. What are you having to eat this week that you love?

Sharon

I will still promote the Tri-colored Couscous Salad I make. I seem to eat it every day! I also got favorable comments from friends when I made this three bean salad. I was supposed to make this Mexican Jicama Salad (from veganjen) yesterday for a party, which I missed. I am stopping by Mi Pueblo today to get what I need.

The cous cous salad looks cool and refreshing! Thanks. I don't remember seeing tri color cous cous before, I will have to look for it.

Sharon

Here are a few of my favorite main dishes from my blog:

http://myhealthykitchen2.wordpress.com/main-dishes/

Some of them make quite a lot and so I have leftovers that I eat for another meal, especially the Sweet and Sour Vegetables which I like with rice and the ratatouille with a salad.

I made Succotash Soup on page 70 of the Mcdougall quick and easy cookbook today. I was easy and delicious! I'm taking leftovers for lunch tomorrow with a slice of whole wheat bread, yum!

I think I saw tri-color couscous at Winco, in the bulk section. I didn't buy that, but I bought some regular. I rarely ever make couscous. Not sure why.

My niece made a delicious wild rice dish when we were invited over to watch the Kentucky Derby this weekend. She kindly inquired about my eating habits ahead of time - sweet! I want to try and recreate this dish: wild rice, butternut squash cubes, celery/carrot/onions, a little bit of dried cranberries and pecans; dressing was a little fresh squeezed orange and lemon juice. Really good.

I watched Julie and Julia last night, and was inspired to make tofu Bourguignon today. To my surprise there were a few recipes out there for it, but none of them are quite right, mine will be perfect I'm sure, as I still have my copy of the art of French cooking as a reference. I wonder what Julia Child would think about this

I heard Julia Child in an interview talking about fat-free diets. She thought they were abhorrent (no surprise there) and said the people on them all had dry flaky skin. Have fun with the tofu bourguignon!

It's still pretty cold here so I'm making curried sweet potato soup, caldo verde soup, baked millet and chili this week. When it's hot and humid, though, we really enjoy gazpacho, just veggie juice with whatever raw veggies are on hand, with lots of onion, garlic and horseradish. I make a big batch but it gets eaten up pretty quick.

I am so excited to have discovered a recipe for low fat vegan mayonnaise (http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2012/04/to ... naise.html) It's made with just 2 ounces of cashews and a box of lite silken tofu. Ever since starting this WOE, I have had to forego not only mayonnaise, but all the other recipes that include it as a main ingredient. This weekend I made a batch and it came out better than I could have hoped for. I think it tastes even better than traditional mayonnaise (I even licked the spoon).

So, in answer to the question in the OP, we are having old fashioned potato salad! I made some yesterday and my husband and I LOVED it. It almost feels like the return of a long lost friend.

I'm going to try the Teriyaki Chickpeas from The Happy Herbivore, served over brown rice. I had some a couple of weekends ago at a 2 day seminar in Tucson with Rip Esselstyn, Dr. and Ann Esselstyn, Doug Lisle, Jeff Novick and others. The seminar was fantastic, by the way. The Teriyaki Chickpeas were soooo good! I don't know the recipe that was used at this event but I thought I'd try this one:

http://happyherbivore.com/2008/10/spicy ... chickpeas/

recently got into breakfast smoothies - dates oatmilk blueberries (frozen or fresh) or cherries and banana (preferably frozen) and a bit of mewsli

dang thats two portions just for breakfast!

I think a lot of people will be pleasantly surprised at some of the recipes in Dr. McDougall's new book, The Starch Solution, including ones for tofu mayo, sour cream and a delicious tofu taco topping. Mmm.

My menu this week? How about I just list some dinners?

Monday: bean/veggie quesadillas - I'll be spreading fatfree pinto beans over one half of a whole wheat lavash (from Trader Joe's) and then loading it up with chopped onion, roasted green chiles (my namesake), and fresh spinach & arugula. This will be folded over and grilled until toasty golden brown in the George Foreman grill on the deep baking plate. It will be topped with loads of salsa, some no-fat cheezy sauce (Jo Stepaniak's recipe but using cooked butternut squash instead of carrots & adding some steamed beet greens to the blended sauce), and a mountain of fresh lettuce.

Tuesday: leftover angel hair pasta with mixed veggies in a creamy lite soymilk sauce plus cooked asparagus. Also cream of asparagus soup made with asparagus, sauteed onion, and a blended mixture of leftover oatmeal/rice/cream of wheat and water. (Every morning when I rinse out the cereal cooking pan, I save the water and bits of leftover cereal in the freezer. Same with rinsing the rice cooker.) A nice flavor will come from nutritional yeast and poultry seasoning.

Wednesday: no oil stir-fry over rice using onion, bok choy, celery, hot pepper, more asparagus, and carrots. All veggies are local and organically grown except the celery. Mine is less than an inch high in the garden.

Thursday: don't know yet. Something with mustard greens and onion since I've got lots in the fridge.

Hungry yet?

Definitely, wish I was coming to dinner.

I'm glad to hear that there are some tofu recipes in the new book (when oh when will my copy arrive) as I've been roasted by a few people around here for posting recipes with it. I have a large family of healthy growing children and everyone enjoys tofu and nuts on the menu now and then. I should also note that since my husband arrived at a healthy weight (after several months on the MWL diet) he joins in and it has made no difference to his weight whatsoever, but definitely increased his satisfaction with our WOE.