Adventures in Eating

Share your daily McDougall menus and/or keep a journal describing your personal progress.

Moderators: JeffN, f1jim, carolve, Heather McDougall

Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby Lyndzie » Sat Sep 01, 2018 1:03 pm

Foodie - Thanks for the thumbs up and ideas!

Spiral - I picked up Jeff’s veggie juice recommendation when I was at Whole Foods today. So good to run into you there today!

Keithwife - Thanks for the compliment!

Here is a list of recipes I’d like to try, but haven’t yet:

Carrot Dogs - Brand New Vegan
https://www.brandnewvegan.com/recipes/s ... arrot-dogs

Spinach and Artichoke Wonderpot - Budget Bytes
https://www.budgetbytes.com/spinach-art ... wonderpot/

Moroccan Butternut Squash Stew - Cooking Light
https://www.cookinglight.com/recipes/mo ... ckpea-stew

Pesto Pasta - McDougall
https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/educ ... l-recipes/
Lindsey
My food journal: Adventures in Eating
My pregnancy journal: Maybe a Baby 2017
www.lindseyhead.coach
User avatar
Lyndzie
 
Posts: 2709
Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2016 7:24 pm
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana USA

Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby Mark Cooper » Sat Sep 01, 2018 1:28 pm

The Spinach Artichoke Wonderpot is delicious, and pretty easy to adjust even for MWL. Hope you and your family enjoy it when you get the chance!
User avatar
Mark Cooper
 
Posts: 2174
Joined: Fri Jul 13, 2018 8:17 am
Location: Princeton, NJ 08540

Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby Lyndzie » Sat Sep 01, 2018 1:46 pm

Mark - I saw it on your food journal, so I googled it and it looks right up my alley. We love everything in it. Thanks for the inspiration!
Lindsey
My food journal: Adventures in Eating
My pregnancy journal: Maybe a Baby 2017
www.lindseyhead.coach
User avatar
Lyndzie
 
Posts: 2709
Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2016 7:24 pm
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana USA

Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby Lyndzie » Mon Sep 10, 2018 8:10 pm

In July my sister moved from New York City to nearby Bloomington, Indiana where her fiancé is attending grad school for the next two years. It is so great to have her so close, because we haven’t lived in the same state in 12 years.

I went down to spend time with the two of them and a friend, who recommended a restaurant called Laughing Planet for burritos. I was shocked - they had compliant food! Neither their beans or rice contained oil (I did not ask about the tortilla). I got the spinach and black bean burrito, no cheese, add guac. It was incredible. They use short grain brown rice, and it is delicious and chewy.

It took me two weeks to track down something as simple as short grain brown rice here. I went to the international grocery, but they only had sweet brown rice or medium grain. The big supermarkets only had long grain.

Finally, I tracked some down at my local health food store. You know the one, the kind that’s in an old house with a mural of the earth on the side of the building. Thank goodness for them, they had both conventional AND organic.

Image

BEST BEANS AND RICE EVER
1 c short grain brown rice
1 c water
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

Put rice and water in Instant Pot. Cook on manual 25 min, NPR. Stir in drained beans and let warm up. Ta da! It’s that easy. It’s good in a bowl with salsa, or on corn tortillas. It’s the best.
Last edited by Lyndzie on Thu Oct 04, 2018 7:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Lindsey
My food journal: Adventures in Eating
My pregnancy journal: Maybe a Baby 2017
www.lindseyhead.coach
User avatar
Lyndzie
 
Posts: 2709
Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2016 7:24 pm
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana USA

Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby Lyndzie » Thu Sep 13, 2018 4:38 am

I started meal planning a couple weeks ago, and it really has made cooking and shopping so much easier, and food waste is reduced. When I used to think of meal planning, I thought of these really organized housewives with spotless kitchens and detailed grocery lists. What I’m actually doing with way less intense, but effective and affordable.

A friend of mine told me she spends about 30 minutes each week doing her meal planning. What?! I spend about five. First, think of three meals you want to eat. Then make a list of what you need. Next, make sure you have breakfast stuff on hand. Lastly, take a quick glance at the staples to make sure you aren’t low on anything.

So easy, right? This week we had lentil loaf with mashed potatoes and green beans, the next night was broccoli soy sauce, and then last night was taco night. Tonight will be leftovers. After that, I will look at what I have on hand and see if a meal can be made, and usually I can have my husband pick up an ingredient or two on the way home from work, such as broccoli (we go through a ton of broccoli, I steam it almost every night and set a bowl on the table, and everyone just munches in it).

By only planning for three meals, the fridge is not overly stuffed with ingredients, if something comes up and we have to change plans, food isn’t rotting away on the counter. Many of our dishes involve shelf stable (dried grains and canned beans) or frozen products.
Lindsey
My food journal: Adventures in Eating
My pregnancy journal: Maybe a Baby 2017
www.lindseyhead.coach
User avatar
Lyndzie
 
Posts: 2709
Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2016 7:24 pm
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana USA

Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby Lyndzie » Mon Sep 24, 2018 4:48 pm

Tonight I made Budget Bytes’s Spinach and Artichoke Wonderpot and unfortunately it got a thumbs down from everyone.

Image

The “sauce” of the dish is the broth, and that is where it went wrong for me. I picked up a box of Trader Joe’s low sodium veggie broth, which just isn’t very good, and apparently also has olive oil in it! It was the very last ingredient on the list, argh. I think this dish might be alright if you used a broth that actually tastes good on it’s own.

I did make two changes to the dish: I added a can of cannelloni beans (including liquid) and used fresh spinach. These were two good decisions.

I might try this sometime and just use water and diced tomatoes for the liquid. I like artichokes and mushrooms, and really felt that this recipe could use even more veggies.
Last edited by Lyndzie on Thu Oct 04, 2018 7:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Lindsey
My food journal: Adventures in Eating
My pregnancy journal: Maybe a Baby 2017
www.lindseyhead.coach
User avatar
Lyndzie
 
Posts: 2709
Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2016 7:24 pm
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana USA

Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby Lyndzie » Mon Sep 24, 2018 4:50 pm

Lazy dinner from this past week: chickpeas, jasmine rice, broccoli and green beans.

Image
Last edited by Lyndzie on Thu Oct 04, 2018 7:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Lindsey
My food journal: Adventures in Eating
My pregnancy journal: Maybe a Baby 2017
www.lindseyhead.coach
User avatar
Lyndzie
 
Posts: 2709
Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2016 7:24 pm
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana USA

Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby Mark Cooper » Tue Sep 25, 2018 3:53 am

Lyndzie wrote:Tonight I made Budget Bytes’s Spinach and Artichoke Wonderpot and unfortunately it got a thumbs down from everyone.

Image: https://flic.kr/p/MDk69K

The “sauce” of the dish is the broth, and that is where it went wrong for me. I picked up a box of Trader Joe’s low sodium veggie broth, which just isn’t very good, and apparently also has olive oil in it! It was the very last ingredient on the list, argh. I think this dish might be alright if you used a broth that actually tastes good on it’s own.

I did make two changes to the dish: I added a can of cannelloni beans (including liquid) and used fresh spinach. These were two good decisions.

I might try this sometime and just use water and diced tomatoes for the liquid. I like artichokes and mushrooms, and really felt that this recipe could use even more veggies.


Hi Lindsey :D

You are right, this recipe definitely depends on having a broth you like as a starting point - we have used homemade mushroom broth, homemade veggie broth, Pacific Foods Low Sodium Vegetable Broth, or Better Than Bouillon Organic Vegetable Base Reduced Sodium. (For Better Than Bouillon it definitely has to be the Organic version to avoid oil as an ingredient). All of those seemed to work well, but I would say just be sure whatever you use is a base that you really like and it gets cooked long enough to thicken somewhat. I also usually double or even triple the amount of mushrooms, add a whole pound of spinach, and sometimes even add a pound of steamed broccoli when I add the spinach. I always use 1 lb whole grain pasta and so usually only add about 4 Cups of broth instead of the 5 Cups called for in the recipe. We like it best with linguine or spaghetti, but it should work with almost any pasta type I should think. I usually go a bit heavier on the spices than the recipe calls for, as well, and finish with a little nooch on top.

Hope that is helpful! Thanks again for sharing the great veggie soup recipe and take care.

Mark
User avatar
Mark Cooper
 
Posts: 2174
Joined: Fri Jul 13, 2018 8:17 am
Location: Princeton, NJ 08540

Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby Lyndzie » Tue Sep 25, 2018 6:07 pm

Tonight I made the Sriracha Rainbow Noodle Salad that Victw posted recently, and it’s delicious. It’s the perfect dish to take to potlucks with SAD eaters, very creamy and flavorful.

I made some tweaks to the recipe, and have some alterations when I make it in the future.

One package of fresh udon noodles was the right amount. I used 1 cup edamame in place of tofu, but will use less in the future, maybe 2/3 cup? I used a bag of prechopped coleslaw mix in place of cabbage and carrots. I skipped tha basil entirely because I don’t like basil, and used canned pineapple for convenience.

The dominant flavors of the salad are the cilantro and sriracha, a combination that I love. For a dressing, I blended soaked cashews, lime juice, water and soy sauce, and served the sriracha on the side because I’m the only one here that likes spicy.

There are way too many “fatty” components, and might be normal to the general population, but made the salad a bit too rich for me, and the flavors too muted to keep. Next time I will skip the coconut, hemp seeds and avocado. I’ll keep the peanuts and sprinkle roasted sesame seeds, which support the “Asian” theme and are quite flavorful. I chose edamame instead of tofu out of a combination of laziness and desire for a whole food.

Image

RAINBOW NOODLE SALAD
Dressing
1/2 c cashews
2-3 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp soy sauce
sriracha, to taste

Salad
1 pkg fresh udon noodles
2/3 c shelled edamame
2 c chopped cilantro
1/2 c chopped scallions
1 bag coleslaw mix
1 c chopped pineapple
1/2 c chopped peanuts (I used dry roasted and lightly salted)
3 tbsp pickled ginger, chopped
2 tbsp roasted sesame seeds

Whiz up dressing in blender. Cook noodles and rinse under cold water. Combine everything in a bowl and devour.

Somewhat funny side note: my in-laws think I’m nuts. We were over for taco night this past weekend, and I brought some beans and rice to share. I put together my plate of rice topped with beans, salsa and a bit of guacamole. Someone looked over and exclaimed in surprise, “That actually looks good!” Usually when I’m over I just nuke a potato or eat a can of beans, and I just realized they all think I eat like that all the time. I feel like I’m doing a great disservice to our way of eating, because I’m not representing well to some people that would really benefit from dietary changes. From now on I am going to work on taking tasty dishes with me so they can see that being healthy and delicious dinners go hand-in-hand.
Last edited by Lyndzie on Thu Oct 04, 2018 7:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Lindsey
My food journal: Adventures in Eating
My pregnancy journal: Maybe a Baby 2017
www.lindseyhead.coach
User avatar
Lyndzie
 
Posts: 2709
Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2016 7:24 pm
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana USA

Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby Lyndzie » Wed Oct 03, 2018 7:28 pm

We moved this past weekend, and are not totally settled into our new place. I let the pantry run low so we didn’t have much to move. And, my husband's truck broke down in the middle of the road late last Friday, so we’ve been down to one car while it’s in the shop and I haven’t had a chance to go to the grocery yet. We’re not out of food, but it’s odd items or one ingredient short of a real meal.

Tonight I made a quick pasta sauce out of whole canned tomatoes and an eggplant. It was inspired by the dish penne alla Norma, which I’ve never had, but sounded good in theory, minus the cheese and olive oil.

Image

I used a 28 ounce can of whole tomatoes (saving the juice for another use) and a peeled, diced eggplant. Add a hefty amount of garlic and itialian herbs, then cook in a saucepan with the lid on until the eggplant melts and mushes into a sauce (use a spoon or potato masher). I also added red pepper flakes and a bit of soy sauce for umami. Next time I’ll probably add tomato paste as well, maybe a splash of sherry vinegar.

I served the sauce on whole wheat noodles and topped with kalamata olives, capers and pine nuts.
Last edited by Lyndzie on Thu Oct 04, 2018 7:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Lindsey
My food journal: Adventures in Eating
My pregnancy journal: Maybe a Baby 2017
www.lindseyhead.coach
User avatar
Lyndzie
 
Posts: 2709
Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2016 7:24 pm
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana USA

Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby Lyndzie » Wed Oct 03, 2018 7:39 pm

I got a pound of dried yellow beans, also called canary beans or mayocoba, and cooked them up in the instant pot. I had intended to make them into a Mexican inspired dish, but their smooth buttery flavor immediately reminded me of soup.

Image

I make a simple bean soup by sautéing carrots and onion, adding some garlic, Italian seasoning and whole canned tomatoes and cooking until dry, then adding in the beans (already cooked) and reserved liquid from the tomatoes, along with a bay leaf and water. At the end I added a half a bag of spinach.

It made about 10 cups. I ate it all in two days.

Yum.
Last edited by Lyndzie on Thu Oct 04, 2018 7:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Lindsey
My food journal: Adventures in Eating
My pregnancy journal: Maybe a Baby 2017
www.lindseyhead.coach
User avatar
Lyndzie
 
Posts: 2709
Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2016 7:24 pm
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana USA

Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby Idgie » Wed Oct 03, 2018 9:19 pm

We call those peruanos here, and they're my #1 favorite of all beans. YUM.
Idgie, Southern CA
My recipes (mostly MWL) are at https://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=58361&p=586527#p586527
My new MWL-only recipe site is at http://mwlrecipes.weebly.com
Idgie
 
Posts: 1153
Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2018 1:20 am

Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby Lyndzie » Thu Oct 04, 2018 5:51 am

Idgie, what do you make with peruanos?
Lindsey
My food journal: Adventures in Eating
My pregnancy journal: Maybe a Baby 2017
www.lindseyhead.coach
User avatar
Lyndzie
 
Posts: 2709
Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2016 7:24 pm
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana USA

Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby choufleur » Thu Oct 04, 2018 9:47 am

Your meals look so good Lindsey! I have never had pasta alla Norma either but am interested in trying that myself.

Not Idgie, but I use peruano beans in a lot of Mexican dishes where I might otherwise use pinto beans. They offer a slightly different (in a good way) flavor. We especially like them mashed with onion, cumin, and other spices prepared like refried beans (I just don't add oil).
choufleur
 
Posts: 67
Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2016 9:17 am

Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby Idgie » Thu Oct 04, 2018 6:15 pm

I mostly make soup out of peruanos, but I haven't been eating as many beans since I started MWL. Once I use up the beans in the house, though, I'm getting more peruanos.
Idgie, Southern CA
My recipes (mostly MWL) are at https://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=58361&p=586527#p586527
My new MWL-only recipe site is at http://mwlrecipes.weebly.com
Idgie
 
Posts: 1153
Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2018 1:20 am

PreviousNext

Return to My Daily Menus & Journals

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 12 guests



Welcome!

Sign up to receive our regular articles, recipes, and news about upcoming events.