Week 4 Menu Planning

Monday: Tuscan Vegetable Torte (crock pot meal)
Tuesday: Sweet Potato, spinach and apple salad
Wednesday: Meatless Mexican Lasagna
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: Vegetable barley soup
Saturday: Quesadilla with spanish rice
Sunday: Tortellini Primavera - this will probably change since it is the Super Bowl

Peanut Butter Banana Cookies

Recipe by 5-A-Day Kids Cookbook

Ingredients:
1 large ripe banana, sliced
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp margarine
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (can substitute whole wheat flour0
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Spray sheets with non-stick cooking spray.

In mixing bowl, combine banana, peanut butter and margarine. Mix until creamy with hand held mixer. Add sugars and egg; continue mixing until light and fluffy. Add flour, baking soda and salt to batter. Use a spoon to stir until all the flour has been incorporated into the batter.

Drop teaspoonfuls onto baking sheet. Sprinkle cookies with sugar, then press fork twice on top each cookie to form a crisscross pattern.

Bake on middle rack of oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from baking sheet and place on cooling rack.

*I love, love, love these cookies.  They hit the spot every time.  They come out nice and soft. Be careful, it is hard to not eat the whole batch at once. 

Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables

This one was recommend to me by a friend and I'm glad that she did.  Wow, was it good.  I made a few alterations to the recipe, used an orange pepper in place of one of the red peppers.  I also didn't have any summer squash because, well, it isn't summer.  I also eliminated the mushrooms since I'm not a fan. You could easily add diced chicken to this if you wanted some meat. 
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/baked-penne-with-roasted-vegetables-recipe/index.html

Dutch Apple Pie

So this isn't a dinner recipe but it we had it this week for my birthday.  It is one of my favorites. I highly recommend it.

http://www.food.com/recipe/dutch-apple-pie-43990

Spinach Salad w Tortellini, Dried Cranberries and Apples

I discovered this website when searching for recipes and found that is has a ton of great salad recipes.  Stuff that sounds yummy and that I would never have thought of.  This one went over well. Everyone enjoyed it.  I used gorganzola instead of feta. 

http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/spinach-salad-with-tortellini-dried-cranberries-apples-almonds-and-feta/

Pesto Pasta

This is one of our favorites and we have made it for years. Best part is that it is super easy.

Box of Captavi noodles
container of basil pesto sauce
mozzarella, but into chunks
1 cup of roasted red pepper (can use from a jar)

Cook noodles according directions on box. If you are roasting the pepper yourself, slice them up and put into a skillet with a little oil and saute until soft. Drain noodles and put back into pot.  Mix in pesto sauce, roasted red peppers and mozzarella. 

Week 3 Menu Plan

Sunday: Spaghetti Pie
Monday: Pesto Pasta
Tuesday: Spinach salad with Tortellini
Wednesday: eating out for my birthday!
Thursday: Corn Chowder
Friday: Baked Penne with roasted veggies
Sat: leftovers

Pumpkin Pie Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1.2 tsp ground nutmeg
1.2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup raisins
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/2 cup canola oil
1/3 cup water
2 Tbsp raw pumpkin seeds

Preheat oven to 350. Spray the cups of a 12-cup muffin pan lightly with nonstick spray.

Sift both flours, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and cloves into a large bowl; stir in the raisins. Beat the egg, pumpkin puree, oil and water together in another bowl. Add the pumpkin mixture to the four mixture and stir just until blended.

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full. sprinkle with the pumpkin seeds. Bake until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes; remove the muffins from the pan and serve warm. 

*These are FANTASTIC!!  I highly recommend making these.  Just yummy.

Spaghetti Pie

This one is definitely not vegan.  Plenty of cheese in this one.

4 cups cooked spaghetti (1/2 box)
10 oz package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and squeezed dry
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce, warmed
chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 350. Coat 9-inch springform pan with nonstick spray.

Stir the spaghetti, broccoli, mozzarella, ricotta, Parmesan, egg and Italian seasoning together in a bowl. Scrape the mixture into the springform pan and level the top.

Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cool in the pan about 5 minutes. Remove the side of the pan. Cut the pie into wedges and serve topped with marinara sauce.

* I decided to use fresh broccoli and it didn't cook well. If you choose to make this with fresh broccoli, you may want precook the broccoli a bit. This recipe didn't do much for me. it was OK but I'm not a huge fan of ricotta and this one seemed to have a bit much in it for my likely.  Paige wasn't a big fan either.  Ryan and Charlotte, well, they will eat anything :)

Week Two Highlights

I was feeling good as the week began but starting to have some cravings a little later in the week.  On Thursday, I really wanted a turkey bacon sandwich.  I mean, really wanted one.  That urge passed and life went on.  Then on Friday, I found myself reaching for a soda in the fridge.  They were in there from before we started our experiment.  I didn't drink it but boy did I want to.  Ryan is finding some positive outcomes, he has found more energy.  He isn't dragging as much as he used to as the day went on which is great.  Girls are still enjoying the food and not complaining about it so I find that a success.

Very Best Vegan Chili Ever

http://thehealthyapron.com/2010/11/30/the-best-vegan-chili-ever/

Well, that is what they claim.  I found this recipe to be very tasty.  It looked, smelled and tasted like chili with meat in it.  My only word of caution, I like to let my chili sit for a while and simmer.  If you do that with this recipe, you need to add another can of diced tomatoes as it thickens up quite a bit.  I probably only let it sit for 1 1/2 hours and 30-40 minutes was recommended. I also like to add some whole wheat macaroni noodles to the bottom of our chili bowls. 

Farmer's Market Lasagna

From Parents magazine, September 2009

1 zucchini, chopped
1 red sweet pepper, chopped
1/2 cup shredded carrots
8 oz cremini mushrooms
3 cups baby spinach
1 tsp oregano
red pepper flakes, to taste
1 jar (26 oz) marinara sauce (or homemade)
6 regular lasagna noodles, broken in half (uncooked)
1/2 carton (15 oz) part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350.

Saute zucchini, red pepper, carrots and mushrooms until slightly tender. Add spinach oregano and red pepper flakes. Saute for a few minutes.

Layer 1/2 cup sauce, 4 noodles, half the veggies, half the ricotta, 1 cup sauce and 1/3 cup mozzarella. Stack on 4 more noodles, remaining veggies and ricotta, 1/3 cup mozzarella, 4 noddles and rest of sauce. Cover with remaining cheese. Cover dish tightly with foil. Bake for 1 hour. Let stand 15 minutes before slicing.

* This recipe was given to me by a friend.  I didn't take a photo of it because it didn't look nearly as pretty as the original photo did. Probably because I used whole wheat lasagna noodles and didn't use much cheese.  It was very yummy.  No complaints from the kids either.  My only piece of advice, if you are trying to sneak veggies in past your kids, this won't do it. They veggies are plentiful and obvious.  You may be able to chop them smaller if you think that would help, but still, very yummy.

Caribbean Rice and Beans

Found in the Dole Cookbook

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 med onion, chopped (1cup)
1 cup sliced red bell pepper
1 cup sliced yellow bell pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 tsp Cajun creole or Jamaican jerk seasoning
1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
2 cans (15 oz each) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups cooked wild or brown rice

Heat oil over medium-high heat in large skillet.
Cook onion, bell peppers, garlic, seasoning and oregano until tender, about 8 minutes.
Add beans, broth, lime juice and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, 5-10 minutes. Serve with beans and rice.

*This is a spicy one.  We all enjoy some food with spice but we knew it was too spicy when both kids wouldn't eat it.  Paige was complaining that it made her lips hurt and Charlotte just kept making faces.  She was going to keep eating it up we chose to make them something else which almost never happens in our house.  I only did this since I was even having trouble with it too.  Ryan, on the other hand, loved all the spice and ate most of it. 

Black Bean Pinwheels

Ingredients:
Soft flat bread or tortillas
1 can refried black beans
1/2 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp garlic salt
1 container cream cheese (use vegan cream cheese if you would like)
4 roasted bell peppers cut into slivers
Carrots - julienned
Cucumbers - julienned
Lettuce - julienned
1 cup chopped cilantro
1 container broccoli sprouts or alfalfa sprouts

Mix cumin and garlic salt into the black beans. Warm on stove top. Arrange all ingredients in an assembly style station. Spread cream cheese over entire flat bread. Spread refried beans on half the bread, ontop of the beans. Follow with peppers and veggies. One the last layer, include lettuce and sprouts. When you finish, be sure leave a little cream cheese on the end so when you roll it up, the cream cheese acts like a seal.  Cut into desired width and serve.

* Lots of chopping but worth it.  Whole family loved it and we even had to go back and make more.

Asian Noodle Salad - from Jamie T

Salad Ingredients:
1 package of linguine noodles, halved, cooked, rinsed and cooled
1/2 head of Napa cabbage
1/2 head of sliced purple cabbage
1/2 bag of baby spinach chopped
3 carrots sliced thin into strips
1 whole red bell pepper
1 whole yellow bell pepper
1 whole orange bell pepper
small bag of bean sprouts
3 sliced scallions
 1 sliced cucumebers
chopped cilantro - up to one bunch
1 can cashews, lightly toasted in skillet

Dressing Ingredients:
Juice of one lime
8 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp sesame oil
8 Tbsp soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp fresh ginger chopped
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 jalepeno chopped
more cilantro

Mix together salad ingredients. Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over salad before serving. Mix with tongs and serve. Dressing keeps up to three days before serving, without cilantro.

* My first disclaimer about this one is that it makes a TON.  I would recommend cutting the recipe in half and you would still have more than enough. The family found this recipe to be delicious yet very messy.  The dressing makes it all very slippery, especially the noodles, so it can be a little challenging to eat.  Next time I would probably cut the noodle even smaller in hopes that it would be easier to eat. My youngest devoured it and had multiple helpings.  I did, however, experience major bloating after eating this.  Not sure why, maybe it was the soy sauce.

Tostadas

Ingredeients:
tostada shells
lettuce - chopped
tomato - diced
cucumber - diced
corn, black bean and red pepper mix (canned, fresh or frozen)
salsa
refried beans - spicy
cheese (optional)


Slightly heat tostada shells in the oven for a few minutes while you warm the refried beans on the stove top. Warm the corn, black bean and red pepper mix.  Top the shells with all ingredients and enjoy.  Of course you can add any other toppings that you woud like.

*We have always been tostada fans and ate them regualarly. This time, instead of ground beef, we replaced it with the corn mix.  Excellent idea and a good substitution. Once thing we did find was that it was missing a bit of a mexican flavor.  We probably should have added some seasoning to the refried beans. We thought that purchasing the spicy beans would have done it.

One Week Down

I have to say that our first week came with a wrath of emotions. We spent the weekend searching for recipes, planning our menu for the week, clearing out our fridge and refilling it with wonderful, healthy foods.  We woke up with great excitement to start our challenge.  I didn't have any real cravings the first day as I was to looking forward to the day.  As the week went on, my husband started experiencing some headaches, what we assume was from caffeine withdrawal. We aren't coffee drinkers so cutting out our soda intake was a bit tough as we didn't realize the need we had for caffeine. We also found lunch to be an interesting challenge, especially for my husband who doesn't work from home.  It took a little extra planning to make sure that he had the right kind of food with him at work.  I did, however, find it fun to try new recipes all week.  I've been to the library checking out vegetarian and vegan cookbooks searching for yummy  recipes.  I've also received some great recipes from friends that I can't wait to try.  The kids haven't really noticed that meat has disappeared from their plates.  They are just super excited to have so much fruit.  Typically we would save fruit for dessert in our house because that is all the would eat and we would have to bribe them to eat the meat on their plates. I have to say that I am thankful that they are used to eating fruits and vegetables so it wasn't a total shock to them.  My favorite comment of the week came from my 5 year old while eating the minestrone. "Mom, what is this? A cucumber or something?" as she holds up a zucchini. I reply "Sort of, it's a zucchini, kind of a like a mix between a cucumber and celery." She says, "well I like it, along with these little potatoes, they are super yummy." She then held up a cannellini bean.  We also were happy to report that we both lost 5 pounds the first week. I'm sure that pace won't continue but still exciting.

Menu Planning Week 2

Monday: Tostadas
Tuesday: Asian Noodle Salad
Wednesday: Caribbean beans and rice
Thursday: Lasagna
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: Chili
Sunday: Pesto Pasta

Nutty Thai Noodles

Ingredients:
1 (16 oz) box Thai noodles or vermicelli
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1/4 c soy sauce
2 Tbsp sesame oil
1/2 cup all natural chunky peanut butter
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp ground ginger
2 limes
red pepper flakes (optional)

In a large pot boiling water, cook the noodles according to the package directions. Drain and place in serving bowl. In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the remaining ingredients (except limes) to make the sauce, stirring well to mix. Cook the sauce for 1 minute on medium in the microwave. Pour warm sauce over the noodles and toss to coat. Squeeze lime over noodles and add red pepper flakes to add some spice.

*We have made this before with chicken so we thought we would try it alone. Still a yummy recipe without the meat.

Minstrone Soup

 http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robin-miller/minestrone-soup-with-pasta-beans-and-vegetables-recipe/index.html

*The whole family LOVED this recipe.  My only alteration was I had to use whole wheat macaroni noodles since I couldn't find whole wheat ditalini pasta.  I ended up adding too much pasta and had to then add more vegetable broth. Super yummy.

Fusilli with Broccoli, Beans and Walnuts

(can't remember where I found this one)

Ingredients:
2 cups whole-wheat fusilli pasta
1 head broccoli, florets halved and stems peeled and thinly sliced
2 t extra-virgin olive oil
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 (15oz) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
Pinch red pepper flakes
1/4 c grated parmesan cheese
1/2 c walnuts

Cook the fusilli according to the package. Four minutes before it is done, add the broccoli to the boiling water and cook until the pasta and broccoli are tender. Drain, reserving 1/2 c of the cooking water.

Return the pot to medium heat. Add the oil, and garlic and cook until the garlic begins to turn golden, about 2 minutes. Stir in the beans and pepper flakes. Add the reserved pasta water, then the drained pasta and broccoli. Add the cheese and walnuts and toss until combined.

*This one received mixed reviews.  Surprisingly, it has zero flavor to it. I say surprisingly because of all that garlic and the red pepper flakes.  I will say that we didn't put in a lot of red pepper flakes because of the kids.  My husband and 1 1/2 year old ate it up, my 5 year old and I barely touched it.  it was just missing something in my opinion.  However, when we ate it later in the week for leftovers, I added marinara sauce and it was much more palatable.

Spinach and Berry Salad with Cheesy Herb Muffins

Ingredients for salad:
Baby spinach
1 cucumber diced
3/4 c strawberries sliced
3/4 c blueberries
1/4 c red onion chopped
1/4 c walnuts
4 oz gorgonzola (optional)

Add raspberry vinaigrette or balsamic vinaigrette dressing.  Of course, you can bring in add more or less of any of the ingredients to your families taste. 

*We have made this salad for a long time. Both my husband and I have always loved this salad.  We have always struggled to get my 5 year old to eat lettuce.  She started out picking all the toppings off and then she gave the spinach a try.  Much to my surprise, she had three helpings.  I would say it was a hit.

Sweet Potato Quesadillas

 - Simply In Season: Children's Cookbook by Beach and Kauffman

Ingredients:
4 cups sweet potatoes (1 lb)
1 1/2 cups onion
2 cloves of garlic
2t dried oregano
1 1/2 t dried basil
1 1/2 t chili powder
1 1/2 t ground cumin
8 tortillas
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
1 cup cooked beans

Preheat oven to 400F. Peel and cut sweet potatoes into large chunks. Put in large saucepan and cover with water. Boil until soft, about 10 - 15 minutes. Drain. Mash sweet potatoes and set aside.

Finely chop onions and garlic. Saute in oil until translucent. Add spices and cook another minute. Stir in sweet potatoes and heat through.

Spread sweet potato filling on half of each tortilla. Spoon black beans on top and sprinkle with cheese. Fold tortilla in half. Place on oiled baking sheet and brush tops with oil. Bake in preheated oven 15-20 minutes. Serve with sour cream and salsa.

*Apparently I didn't read the entire recipe because I served this more like a burrito or soft taco.  I didn't bake it and it was still yummy.  I know it sounds like a lot of seasoning but you will be thankful in the end.  The sweet potatoes are definitely sweet so to get a more Mexican feel, add all the suggested.  The whole family loved this recipe.

Menu Planning: Week 1

Monday: Sweet Potato Quesadilla
Tuesday: Spinach and Berry Salad with Cheesy Herb Muffins
Wednesday: Fusilli with Broccoli and Beans
Thursday: Minestrone
Friday: Black Bean Pinwheels
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Nutty Thai Salad

How it all began:

My husband and I enjoy documentaries and we recently watched "Forks Over Knives". The movie itself was fairly dry but we did find some very interesting facts that made us think.  We have always been meat eaters and enjoyed a "typical" American diet. We have always tried to feed our family healthy foods but found that we could do better.We happened to watch it at just the right time when we needed a change in our eating habits. My husband suggested that we give it a go. I agreed to try it for one month. This specific diet from the movie/book includes the following: only plant-based, whole foods.  This means no animal products, including diary, no processed foods of any kind. We found that some of this was a little unrealistic for our family so we chose to do the following: remove all meat, significantly reduce dairy intake, do our best to remove all processed foods, significantly reduce sugar intake and remove anything with high fructose corn syrup.  Not too bad, right?  We'll see...