In case you, my dear readers, weren't aware, I become vegetarian at the beginning of 2010. I actually started out being 100% vegan, taking the "21 Day Vegan Kickstart". Since completing that, I decided to stay vegetarian, but do try to eat most of my meals vegan (not having any animal products). There have been times that I've eaten eggs (organic, free range), once in awhile some dairy (as a condiment; my body doesn't do well with dairy), and a few times have indulged in some seafood. I've also chosen to eat a considerable amount of my meals raw, but that is something for a different post. :)
One of my most favorite VEGAN meals is
Black Bean Soup and Cornbread.
Check these out for a yummy, fall meal!
Black Bean Soup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 pinch black pepper
4 cups vegetable broth
8 cups dry black beans
Sea salt to taste
Cayenne pepper sauce (optional)
Soak beans per package instructions.
Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Saute onion, celery and garlic for 5 minutes. Season with chili powder, cumin, salt and black pepper; cook for 1 minute. Stir in vegetable broth and the beans. Bring to a boil.
- After soup has come to a boil, reduce heat. Remove 1/2 of the beans and veggies and blend with a submersible blender. Add back to the pot.
- Bring to a boil once more, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Vegan Cornbread
2 tablespoon. ground flax seed
6 tablespoons. water
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup organic cornmeal
1/4 cup organic sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons sea salt
1 cup almond milk
1/4 cup canola oil
- Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray cake or pie pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the ground flax seed, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer the ground flax seed in the water for 3 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt until well-combined.
- Add the ground flax seed mixture, almond milk, and canola oil to the flour mixture. Beat just until smooth (do not overbeat.)
- Turn into prepared baking pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Top it off with some Earth Balance spread for that buttery taste!
Veggie it up. I know, I know, you don't want to be that guy, but if you're going to bring anything to the party, your first choice should be a veggie platter. Not only can you save yourself from tomorrow's food hangover, you might actually do your body some good. Bite-sized pieces of broccoli, carrots, celery, bell peppers, cauliflower, and snap peas are all inexpensive, low in calories, and full of vitamins. Create a low-fat dip to accompany them, and you might just trump the team's QB as MVP. Just use any onion or ranch dip recipe, with nonfat yogurt, nonfat sour cream, or nonfat cream cheese as the base. Also, try the 5-to-1 veggie trick: for every five bites of veggies you consume, you're allowed one full-fat snack bite. You'll end up having to chew so much for that one morsel of evil, it won't really be worth it.
Main course, to stay on course. Most experienced tailgaters include a barbecue in the festivities. You can smell charcoal and propane for miles around any stadium on any given Sunday. And with the right food choices, a barbecue is a healthy way to prepare good sources of lean protein. Unfortunately, it's a lot easier to throw hot dogs on the grill. Look, if you wanted easy, you would have called for liposuction and never started INSANITY® in the first place. So forget the path of least resistance (and all those hot dog nitrates) and try a main course that'll keep you on course. Replace a beef or pork hot dog with a turkey or tofu dog, a 20-percent-fat beef burger with a 99-percent lean beef one (or a chicken, turkey, or veggie burger), or a fatty pork sausage with the low-fat chicken variety. Place any of these on a multigrain roll, or stuff them in a pita pocket. Try a low-fat grilled chicken breast instead of those messy, fatty ribs. Skewer up some veggies for a tasty low-calorie main dish. Little pizzas made with prebaked crusts, tomato sauce, low-fat cheese, and veggies grill up brilliantly on a barbecue. You can make ground-turkey-and-three-bean chili in advance in a Crock-Pot® and warm it up on the grill. Just a little forethought and some lean meat choices can make a huge difference.
