So...

Rather than fill up my other blog with random veggie posts, I decided to create this one. The plan, as of now, is to fill it with my day to day eating habits. Boring? Perhaps, but whatever. You don't really have to read it if you don't want to. :P Hopefully I'll be posting recipes, reviews, pictures (if I can get my digital camera working again *cue James Blunt, "Goodbye my Lover" music* )

So, a little bit of info about me, why I chose this way of eating and my struggles and triumphs so far:

My name is Katie. I'm a wife of 8.5 years and a stay at home mom of five spirited children. I recently decided to make a HUGE change in our lives. I decided we were going vegetarian. To say that this was met with apprehension from my children is an understatement. In fact, they were absolutely against it. When I told my older girls (ages 8 and 6) they literally CRIED in the grocery store...real tears and everything. "But what about McDonalds?!?!? What about ribs?!?!?!? What are we going to EAT?!???!!?" Everything I put in my cart was met with, "I don't like that. I won't eat that. That's gross. Can we have some salmon? I want steak for dinner. What the heck is THAT?!?!?!" You should have seen their faces when I told them we were also cutting dairy and eggs. "NO CHEESE?!?!?!?! But..but...but...THAT'S NOT MEAT!!!!! Can we have yogurt? Ice cream? Sour cream? WHAT?!?!?! NO WHIPPED CREAM!?!?!?!?!" LOL

So far I've convinced everyone but my eldest, Caitlin, that switching to vegetarian is a good idea. It just took a few good meals for them to decide that they really didn't need meat/eggs/dairy in their lives. Caitlin was on a hunger strike. She was refusing to eat until I cooked meat for her. That ended last night though because she got hungry. lol (She was still eating breakfast and lunch at school, so it's not like she wasn't eating at all...she was just refusing dinner at home) She did make sure to protest VERY loudly the entire time she ate last night. "I HATE tofu. Tofu is gross. What is this white thing?" "That's a potato, sweety...you like potatoes." "I think it got some tofu on it, it's gross. Do I have to eat this? Can I have some chicken? Chicken would be SO much better in this than tofu." and so on and so forth. She ate it though. (Well, minus the tofu, which she fed to the baby.)

So, we're just starting out on this journey. The family is more than welcome to eat whatever they want when they're not at home. Caitlin and Emma both choose to eat school breakfasts and lunches, so I know they're eating meat at school. Drake (my husband) still goes out to eat lunch almost everyday with coworkers, so I know he's eating meat then. They can decide what they want to eat. I'm not going to force this on anyone (except the younger three children, who rely on me 100% for everything they eat, but when they're older, they too will be able to choose to eat whatever they want when they're out).

So, what have we been eating lately? Saturday I made a decent bean soup. They all ate it, but it wasn't as filling as I had hoped it would be and it really could have used something to add some more flavor to it. It also wasn't very pretty. lol It was this murky green color and the kids were hesitant to eat it just because it didn't look horribly appetizing. Here's the recipe:

Bean and Zucchini Soup

4 C. vegetable broth
4 C. water
1 C. dried green split peas
2 C. dried 10 assorted bean mix
2 zucchini, chopped
1 t. garlic powder
salt, pepper and red pepper to taste

Rinse and drain all dried beans. Mix all ingredients together in a crock pot. Cook on high for 5 hours.

It really wasn't filling enough for dinner. It did make a decent breakfast the next morning though. All in all, I'd give it 3 stars (on a five star rating). Two kids gave it three stars, one gave it 2 stars. Caitlin didn't eat it.







For dinner last night, we had the MOST AMAZING curry. I dislike curry. I don't hate it, but I won't choose to eat it if I have other options. I know, however, that my husband loves curry. So, I decided to make curry for dinner last night. I honestly don't think I've ever tasted something so yummy in my life. I absolutely LOVED it! In fact, I had the leftovers for lunch today, and I'm SO not a leftovers type of person.

Tofu Curry

1 large Mayan sweet onion
4 potatoes
8 cloves of garlic, minced (I LOVE garlic, so I probably overdid it...change amount to suit your taste)
curry powder
1 can coconut millk
3 large tomatoes
1 package of firm tofu (drained and cut into 1 inch cubes)
salt

Sautee the onion, potatoes and tomatoes and garlic with olive oil. Add water to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender. Add tofu, coconut milk, curry powder and salt to taste.







I served this over rice for my family and ate it plain myself. (I'm on a carb restricted diet, but splurged with the potatoes ;) ) A big thumbs up from everyone but Caitlin. I give it 5 stars, as do three of my children. Caitlin gave it 3 stars because it had tofu in it and that automatically downgrades it status by 2 stars. lol Drake gave it 4 stars because he felt the sauce was a little thicker and sparse than he would have liked it. This could have easily been remedied with more coconut milk.

Tonight we're having chili over rice for dinner. I'll post the recipe and reviews after we're finished eating it :D