Week 3: Picnic, gopicnic, It's SPRINGTIME...go on a picnic!

Well first off, I apologize for the lateness of this post. Blogger must not have liked my first, second or THIRD entry as it gobbled them up into cyberspace never to be heard from again. It's okay, the posts were plant based.
It's also okay because as I type this 4th attempt, I have a new perspective and may change things up a bit.

This week's adventures reminded me how easy it is to just fall back into a good ol' meat and something on the side mentality, especially when someone ELSE is cooking.

Now if you haven't been following along on this journey to 90% plant based consumption, I invite you to start at the beginning and catch up, it's okay...we'll wait for you.

Are you back? Great. So now everyone is pretty familiar with the morning smoothie recipe I use and that I make meals go further by incorporating dinner left-overs into lunches for me and the hub so I'll spare ya the day-of-the-week breakdown (mostly because I didn't like the way it was formatting) and just give you some highlights from the week.

Now, in looking at my notes from the week...it looks like there was a wholelotta meat on my plate.
Tuesday we had "fried" chicken with zucchini
Wednesday we had pork and plantains
Saturday we had hamburgers and hot dogs
and Sunday morning we had bacon with breakfast and for dinner we had Chicken Club Pasta

That looks like 4 out of 7 nights of carnivorous consumption...BUT...
Remember this is where I employ the portions on my plate rule.
My journey is not to become a vegan or even a vegetarian...at least that's not what I'm feeling led to at this time. My journey is to a 90% plant based diet (meaning food consumption, not weight loss) so meat and animal products are still going to play a part in our menus, just not as predominantly.

Let's look at the Chicken Club Pasta as an example:
This was a "mommy made it up" recipe that came to my brain while we were driving home from the beach after not having grocery shopped all weekend...it's amazing what you can do with what you have :)
The final recipe yielded 8 servings

2 chicken thighs cooked and chopped
4 slices left over bacon from the morning, chopped
1 full head of broccoli, chopped
1 bag of spinach
1 can diced garlic tomatoes
1/2 cup ranch dressing (check for gluten)
1/2 cup parmigiana cheese
olive oil as needed
1 pkg Tinkyada GF pasta


No special magic here, I just cooked all the ingredients added the ranch and cheese last and let it all simmer under cover to get all saucy then spooned it over pasta and voila. And it was tasty.
So yes, there was meat in it, but the over all dish was at least 75% plant based and since my breakfast and lunch are typically much higher ratios, I think I evened out for the day :)

That being said...I definitely had a day that tipped my numbers for the entire week.
Saturday we went to a picnic complete with hamburgers and hot dogs and all the trimmings.
And I had one of each
And they were both mm-mm-tasty-good.
In the grand scheme of things, I'm not going for perfectly perfect. It's good to know that I am feeding my body what it needs MOST of the time so the few times when it comes up to have what it WANTS don't throw me for a loop. I covered my bases making sure all picnic items were GF (thanks to the hostess who checked with me before going shopping) and I enjoyed the day with friends, new and old.

This week's total SCORE brought to you by gopicnic GF boxed meals.
I stumbled across these in a 7-11 of all places while we were on our way to the beach on Sunday.
All the items in the box are individually packaged so you can eat it all at once, or snack throughout the day.
This little gem was PERFECT for the beach. It doesn't need to be refrigerated AND it was perfectly Babs friendly (GF).
A nice little Sunday morning gift in the least likely of places :)

Enjoy your week!

Week Two: Eat your greens!

So another week has come and gone and it's time to convert my chicken scratch into a comprehensive blog post about my plant consumption. One which will inspire you to eat your greens and flesh out a shopping list for my bestie. No pressure (grin)

Last week's grocery cart :)

So what was special about this week? What did I do differently, you ask?
Well, although there are some carnivorous meals, I was intentional about how much animal product I allowed on my plate. I surpassed the 3/4 veggies/grains to 1/4 meat/fish rule and made meat my condiment.

I have some recipes and product reviews I'll link back here soon but for now this week's menu.

Weekday breakfasts are the same each day, our morning smoothie. This week we replaced the coconut water with aloe vera juice and added some local honey since it is allergy season. I'm not CRAZY about the aloe vera juice, but I don't hate it either.

I'm also a left-overs for lunch kind of girl. So you'll note that dinner or a portion of it the night before, becomes the basis for lunch the next day.

And Mila is still a staple (check out the link, it's new and fancy shcmancy). As it is part of our growing business, the hubs and I have been learning more about its benefits and still can't help but sing the praises of this little miracle seed. Its been a part of my diet for nearly 4 months now and  I'll save the Mila info for those who are interested... back to the week's menu

Monday:


Lunch - shredded lamb and collards 
Snacks - clementines (so good this time of year) and mixed raw nuts
Dinner - Chicken thighs with sweated squash

This squash was AWESOME. I can't guarantee that it remains in the "raw" category as I didn't test the temperature but if it did manage to stay below 118 degrees, we're good. My one regret is I didn't snap a picture because it was also gorgeous. The veggies stay vibrant, don't get mushy and OH LA LA the flavor

• summer squash and zucchini squash sliced into 1/2 inch chunks (or larger)
• 1 bag of orange and red sweet peppers, sliced in half and de-seeded
• 1/2 cup diced onions
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• Place all ingredients in a large heavy saute pan with lid, cook on low heat for 30 minutes

Tuesday:


Lunch -  Black Bean Tacos
Snacks - Popchips and salsa
Dinner - Sweet Tomatoes (Tuesday night is family dinner out night)

• April is Lemon month at Sweet Tomatoes and Souplantation and the Summer Lemon Tossed Salad is DELISH and Gluten Free :)

Wednesday:


Lunch -  Leftover sweated squash with a scoop of Mila (so good even the next day)

one bag/2 servings

Snacks - Veggie chips and Salsa
Dinner - Shirataki Spaghetti

• I was VERY impressed with these noodles. They cook up quick, have very few calories, no sugar, no gluten...a Babs Dream. We had them with fire roasted tomato marinara with a bag of fresh baby spinach leaves wilted into the sauce during the last few minutes of cooking and Al Fresco Sun-dried tomato Chicken Sausage. Why go to the trouble of a tofu noodle when you're just gonna add sausage? Remember, this is my 90% plant based plan AND these Shirataki noodles are a great gluten free option AND great for those who want pasta with out all the carbs.

Thursday:


Lunch - Khinoor Rice & Curry (didn't blow my skirt up) 
Snacks - Rice crackers and wasabi
Dinner - Smoothie with a scoop of Mila (Thursday night is Planet Smoothie night every other week)



Friday:


Lunch -  Eggpant Marinara with Spinach (Remember I mentioned it freezes well? It does.)
Snacks - raw nuts and raisins
Dinner - Tofu pad thai



Saturday:


Breakfast - Large coconut water with 2 scoops of Mila
Dinner -  Kung Pao Chicken with steamed veggies

• I didn't intentionally go for a "no chewable food" morning and afternoon, but my Mila carried me through the day, probably because I was focused on the happenings at the Central Florida Earth Fest!

Sunday:

Breakfast -  Gojiberry Granola Bar and Decaf Skinny Vanilla Soy Latte


Lunch - left over Kung Pao Chicken with veggies with a scoop of Mila

Dinner - UPDATE: Salad WAS on the menu but we wound up at Pizzaria Uno so I opted for an artisan pizza on a gluten free crust. It was phenom! Dried figs, tomatoes, broccoli, all drizzled in balsamic vinegar on a GF crust painted with pesto, and goat cheese for the final touch. 

So, how are you doing on your quest toward a predominantly plant based diet?
Do you have an recipes to share?
How do you "measure" your percentages?

Share...as we know better we do better :)

Week one: Plant Based Diet conversion...

Well as promised, here's the menu from my first week of transition to a 90% plant based diet.
For the first week, I didn't really TRY to do anything different, I wanted a good baseline as a jumping off point. As I suspected, the weekends have more animal product consumption than my weekdays but I think being simply being more intentional will cut that down considerably.

This week I've also noted that my stomach just doesn't feel good after I've eaten meat. My hub asked whether or not it could be the type of meat consumed...I'll be sure to keep my eye on that this week.

Last week I posted our morning smoothie recipe. This doesn't change much unless we add a new veggie to our juice or change up the berries a little.

Monday:
Breakfast - Morning Smoothie
Snack - Apple slices with mixed raw nuts (almonds and pecans are my fave)
Lunch - Strawberry Salad

• mixed spring greens, chopped asparagus, sliced strawberries, chopped celery, farmer's cheese, chopped mint leaves, sunflower seeds

Dinner - Curried black beans 

• Dried black beans prepared according to package instructions, one can of ro-tel, a few drops of my FAVORITE hot sauce Tropical Chili Curry Delight.

Tuesday:

Breakfast - Morning Smoothie

Snack - Apple slices with mixed raw nuts

Lunch - Roast pork with left over curried black beans with a scoop of Mila

Dinner- "Spaghetti" with eggplant marinara

• We used spaghetti squash in place of the pasta, it cooks whole in the microwave in minutes. Saute eggplant in olive oil with 1 Tbsp of minced garlic and 1 cup of minced onion until cooked but still firm. Add one can of marinara sauce, simmer. Top with crumbled feta. The remaining marinara froze BEAUTIFULLY and gave me quick options for lunch during the week.

Coconut Curry Wrap 

Wednesday: 

Breakfast - Morning Smoothie

Snack - Apple slices with mixed raw nuts

Lunch - Leftover eggplant marinara over fresh spinach topped with some crumbled feta and some Mila

Snack - Veggie chips and salsa

Dinner - 1/2 GF curried coconut wrap with pineapple from Ethos 

Thursday: 

Breakfast - Morning Smoothie

Snack - Veggie chips and salsa

Lunch - the other 1/2 GF curried coconut wrap from Ethos 

Dinner - Collards

• In a large pot bring 6 cups of water to a boil, add large bag of sliced Collards, onions, pepper sauce and 1/4lb chopped bacon let simmer until greens are cooked. This made A LOT of collards so the meat amount was negligible in the finished product. It DID make them taste nummy though!

Friday:

Breakfast - Morning Smoothie

Lunch - Leftover eggplant marinara over fresh spinach topped with some crumbled feta and some Mila 

Snack - Mixed nuts with m&m's blast that candy jar at work!

Dinner - BBQ Brisket, Sweet potato fries

Snack - Frozen coconut yogurt with fresh coconut shavings and mandarin oranges 

Saturday:

Breakfast -  I don't often eat breakfast on Saturdays because I teach 2 yoga classes in the morning

Lunch -  ugh...I was hungry and opted for the grilled franks my hub had just made (at least they were non-cured/nitrate free)

Dinner -  Steamed Mussels with tomato sauce and steamed spinach

Sunday:

Breakfast - One egg, two turkey sausage patties, hashbrown casserole

Lunch - Morning Smoothie (it's not just for breakfast)

Snack - cucumber slices with herbed seasoning 

Dinner - Grilled lamb with left over collards, watermelon slices

So there you have it, my first week.

After grocery shopping, this coming week already looks to be higher in the plant based ratio. My pleasant experience with Tofu in my curried wrap from Ethos encouraged me to buy some for Pad Thai this week in place of chicken and I purchased Shirataki Noodles which I've read rave reviews on but have yet to try.

I'll do better with pictures this week too :)

You gotta start somewhere

The next step in the evolution of Babs (that's me) is a diet that is nutrient rich and is 90% plant-based. You can read more why, here.

But here, on the GF blog, I'll chronicle my journey by means of a weekly menu and maybe even a shopping list :)

While a plant-based diet isn't necessarily GF, for this girl, it has to be so feel free to tweak as your needs dictate.

I've already started my transition and I'm keeping copious notes for next week's post but for now, it's fair that you understand my starting point, and how I'll compute my percentages.

I'm not a statistician nor is this a funded project (darn). I'm soley going about this for personal reasons that feel right physically, mentally and even spiritually so whether I eventually wind up vegan, or I may hover at the 85% mark it's my lotus to open.

By my rough estimation, my diet is currently 60 - 70% plant based.
We already juice and make vegetable/fruit smoothies 5 of 7 mornings a week
I get my essentials from Mila*, a plant based, raw, whole food.
The whole family eats intentionally vegetarian 3 to 4 times a month (I shoot for one dinner a week)

Below is the recipe I use for our morning smoothies. (for 2 servings)

Put all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth:

2 c Juice  (We juice 2x a week: carrots, apples, celery...sometimes cucumbers)
2 c Coconut Water
2 scoops Mila
1 TBSP almond butter
1 c greens (I typically used mixed spring greens or baby spinach)
6 or 7 whole, frozen strawberries
1 1/3 c frozen berries (blackberries, blueberries or raspberries)

*full disclosure, I am an independent distributor of Mila, but only became one after I experienced the benefits!