A Planning Victory

The last time I tried to do some cooking ahead on the weekend, I way over-planned. I didn't get half of what I planned done, so I felt like a failure there. So, with school starting for both kids this week, I decided to make a more modest plan. I just made a big pot of rice on Sunday, and boxed it up for use through the week. And it worked! This is the easiest, quickest way to have a big impact on the week.

Sunday night I didn't use the rice at all, though--we just had tacos. I got soft corn tortillas, Lightlife soy taco meat, Follow Your Heart nacho cheese and grape tomatoes, and we had a quick and easy meal. The kids ate plums and I had a pluot to round it out somewhat.

Monday I worked from home for a half day after getting the boy off to his first day of Kindergarten, so I had extra time to cook something. I have been wanting to try this chicken and dumpling recipe for a long time, so I took advantage of my extra time. Oh my goodness, was the seitan good! I forgot to get plain soy milk, and I didn't add enough liquid to the dumplings, so they were only okay, but the deliciousness of the seitan and the gravy more than made up for it. Even the girl said that she didn't expect to like it at all, but it was actually absolutely delicious. I will definitely be making this again. Often.

Tuesday the kids were at their dad's house, and I had a really hard cardio kickboxing class, so I didn't get home until 7:30. By the time my muscles stopped resembling a big bowl of jelly at about 8:30, I was really glad that all I had to do was heat up some Thai green beans from Trader Joe's and serve over already made rice. What a relief.

Yesterday was my birthday, so we went out to California Pizza Kitchen. I had split pea soup, Thai Curry Noodles and a fruity drink with pomegranate schnapps.

Tonight we are going to have veggie meatballs with a sauce made from tomato soup, applesauce, chili sauce and agave nectar, more of the pre-made rice and some kind of veggie.

This weekend I am on my own again, so I imagine I will have a bunch of variations on the bowl of rice, veggie and a sauce theme.

The Problem with Eggs

I love them.

I never used to be a big egg fan, except when I was pregnant. Both of the last two times I was a vegetarian, I went ahead and gave up eggs, because I wasn't eating meat, and I couldn't eat dairy anyway, so I thought that I might as well give up eggs and go all the way (well, mostly). But when I was pregnant with my children, I loved eggs. After I had my daughter, the craving passed, but since I have had my son, I just can't get enough eggs. They are so good. A good over medium egg with that creamy, rich yolk, oh yum. And they are good with hot sauce and hash browns. And omelettes, with lots of veggies.

So, my next project is going to be finding a source for local eggs, from chickens that walk around in a farm yard, rather than living in cages. I know a farmer's market that I can probably go to for this. At least that way I am not contributing to animal cruelty when I eat eggs at home. Now, what am I going to do about eggs in restaurants?

Maybe I will reconsider this again, but for now, eggs are officially in my diet. I think this still makes me an almost vegan, although I know I am moving further away.