Week of Veggies

This week in vegetables.

Stuffer mushrooms sliced into veggie messes.

Corn on the cob . :(


For some reason I found that taking pictures of mushrooms was very enjoyable. So many angles and perspectives of these fun guys.

Greens !!!

Broccoli crowns specifically. Of course, chucked into another easy yet delicious veggie mess.

My lovely bamboo cutting board .

Veggies messes pre, mushrooms and broccoli .
Basically , carrots, onion, garlic, celery and zuchinni.

Easy wraps made the minute I get home from class.
PC's Organic Spring Mix , PC's Maple Smoked Turkey Breast, Hellmann's Half the Fat Mayo and sliced mozzerella.

A cute Lily on the way back from the vet. She's a little " special " here ;)

And no those aren't her ribs! those are wrinkles!!

Random pictures out the car window on the drive back from the vet.

It was beautiful.

Sometimes pictures say so much more than paragraphs upon paragraphs.

News:

Fat Swap!

Galaxy Granola is trying to eliminate 10,000 lbs of fat from consumers diets, in 90 days . There are so many ways you can take part and win prizes! Visit their website for details and look for a Fat Swap post in this space soon!

Ooh and all this weekend CSNstores will take an extra 5 % off your order!

-A

Vegan For Lent

I know what you're thinking.

That dish pictured above , looks amazingly healthy AND delicious . You're probably also thinking that it looks a little too healthy for me to be posting about it ;)

You're right if you voted that dishes like that are not my usual fare. Dishes like these are not really my friend Trae who I've dubbed Mama 's , usual fare either. But for lent , her and one of her girls decided to go vegan.

Yeah they are crazy and they live in an area that is pretty proud of beef, but that is besides the point. While I am all for vegetables and eating healthy , I just couldn't figure out what she was planning on eating .

To shut me up and reassure me that she's not dining on carrot sticks with the children , she's sent me some pictures of her trials with vegan cookery thus far and I thought it would be something fun and interesting to have on the blog. Food pics are always good :)

Oh and if you're curious , that above dish , is mixed baby greens, avocado , sunflower seeds topped with balsaimic vinegar and Nature's Seasoning. Note: I had never heard of Nature's Seasoning prior to this post and had to use google. :/

Mama tells me this is sugar snap peas, mushrooms, onions that had been sauteed and cooked in olive oil and some more of that Nature's Seasoning . Mama loved it but said it shrunk down so much it fit into a small cereal bowl ?!

I hate that . I also hate cooking rice because I can never make the correct amount. It is always too little or too much .

Last but not least we have the glory that is sweet potatoes!!

Loooove these. And so simple. Mama , baked these with olive oil and some brown sugar. They look amazing!

That's all I've got.Until I cook something :)

-A

Not Taco Hell

For dinner tonight, I choppped up some of these :

Sweet onions, tomatoes-on-the-vine, lettuce and baby spinach.

I was seriously wanting soft tacos. I fear the evil that is Taco Hell so i went to the grocery store for some fresh tortilllas and used these ingredients from home :

Mexican rice, extra lean ground beef cooked w/ a PC taco seasoning packet ,Kraft Mexican Cheese ( i have yet to see organic or "natural" versions pop up at the stores I frequent ) and some Newman's Own Original Salsa.

I've heard amazing things from so many bloggers about Newman's Own products. I don't see many of their products at the stores I shop at but they do have a whole shelf in the Mexican section! Has anyone tried the Mango salsa? The Blackbean?

I slapped together a "wrap" as I call it with some rice , sour cream and the cheese. I am not one for vegetables on my wraps or soft tacos as I do not like the idea , taste or feel of warm lettuce and I really hate raw tomatoes and onions.

What is your favorite mexican make at home food?

Favorite salsa or salsa recipe?

Turkey Burgers aka Tuesday's Dinner

I was out of green leafy things so I stopped at the grocery store after class today before braving the frigid temperatures. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending how you look at it. There is a grocery store directly beside my school . I go far more than I should. Especially considering I do weekly or bi-weekly shopping at a different grocery store on weekends with the bf.

I grabbed some organic mixed romaine lettuce , baby spinach and some ground extra lean turkey. Luckily we go through a lot of lettuce and salad components so I get excited when I see the coupons for money off because it expires in 3-4 days. As long as it looks ok I buy it because it will be gone long before then!

I had a plan for these ingredients though .

TURKEY BURGERS!

You need :

Ground turkey. I buy extra lean but I don't know what other varieties there are.

Breadcrumbs. I like the Italian kind but again buy what you want.

Ranch dressing. Yes it's necessary and no it doesn't have to be PC. Although it's really really good AND it's Canadian

Take the ground meat and break it up in a bowl with a fork . Add an egg that I didn't take a picture of because I am new to this nonsense . SO imagine an egg people. Also imagine cracking it .

Then add some ranch dressing. I didn't measure it but I'd say its about a tbsp. Mix it all together with a fork so it looks even grosser. Then add some bread crumbs. Again, I did not measure but I would estimate a cup or so . Basiclly add enough so its all incorporated but not very dry nor very wet.

Then it's the gross part. Form into patties and wash your hands well people! Sorry but sometimes it has to be said.



Then put them in sprayed hot pan . I had this pan on 4 . Just one short of medium . I sprayed it with some cal free spray. Sad story about this pan . It is my most favorite ever. Stupid stainless steel. Or stupid me , really . I was heating it to sear something that I cannot recall and I ended up forgetting about it until it was too late. its usuable but hideous due to the dark bottom and small but noticable brown marks on the cooking surface. It has not effected my cooking though.

I cooked the first side for 7 minutes and the second for almost 9. Go by color . Poke it .

Then take one of these ridiculously soft and yummy kaiser buns and throw it on it :)

Unfortunately I do not have picture of the burger, bunned. I cooked these and we haven't eaten them yet because bf has to work late. Along with unpictured salad.

Turkey Burger

s1 package of ground turkey ( i have no idea of the weight on this )

1 tbsp ranch dressing

1 cup bread crumbs

1 egg

Break up meat and mix a cracked egg into it . Add ranch dressing. Add breadcrumbs and form into patties. Cook on 4 or medium ish until browned on outside and no longer pink inside.

Enjoy!

-A

Contributions

Today involved a lot of this . It also involved a failed trip to the butcher. They are closed until Monday :( So I had to make due and hit up Loblaw's/Superstores' Organic section. It was not needed though as you'll find out below.

I was craving a big salad because of all the carbs, yumminess and junk food of the holidays. I think it is the sodium intake that has really done me in . I am puffy:

In the Big Salad:

Organic Baby Spinach

Organic Mixed Romaine

Julienne Carrots

Celery

Broccoli

Sprouts

Sugar Snap Peas

Shredded Fresh Cheddar

PC Roasted Garlic Croutons

Bacon Bits

I know . It looks like a junk-y salad but there really are a lot of greens and veggies under there :

While at the grocery store the bf and I attacked that bakery section. I don't think we can help it. One of the bf's contributions was of course the garlic bread. He always falls for this one even though I can make way better garlic bread.

He also contributed some everything buns. They are like onion buns , cheese buns and everything bagels rolled into one. I hate them of course.

This was my contribution.

The neighbors ( the same ones that gifted me that snowman) contributed some perch . Well , for the bf's meat portion of dinner . So the chicken breasts were not required. A big salad is enough for me!

I'm off to do some more purple highlighting and eat my big salad.

-A