Sometimes dinner on a Meatless Monday needs to be really simple. Pancake dinner fits that bill for sure. Our kids would eat pancakes for dinner every night if we let them. They love pancakes so dinner tonight was a hit for sure! We ... haha, that is funny! Brian tends to break … [Read more...]
Meatless Monday: Vegetarian Tapas
We are all about keeping our dinners simple, affordable, and tasty. On the other hand, I'm still just a big kid who still likes to play with his food. Sometimes, experimenting with new flavors or new types of food can really negate these factors (especially the tasty part). … [Read more...]
April 2012 Monthly Meal Plan
We are so very happy to be back to our normal meal plans. Our little experiment went very well with both of us losing a fair amount of weight, but the draw of meat and the need to feed our kids healthy food that they will actually eat just became too much. We did learn quite a … [Read more...]
Meatless Monday: Spinach and Mushroom Quiche
Sometimes after a long day, we just need a dinner that is quick, easy, and not too heavy. We tend to keep pie shells, eggs, mushrooms, spinach, and cheese around at all times so it's only natural that a quiche would find it's way into our repertoire from time to time. Quiche … [Read more...]
Meatless Monday: Mushroom Risotto
Risotto is one of those yummy, comforting dishes that seems so fancy that you have to go to a nice Italian restaurant to get it. Just like so many comfort foods, however, risotto started out in the homes of Italian grandmothers. Basically, it consists of oil, rice, broth, and … [Read more...]
Meatless Monday: Macaroni and Cheese
Having a meatless meal does not mean sacrificing comfort. Macaroni and Cheese is one of those meals that takes just about everyone back to some point in their childhood. Unfortunately, as a nation, we have taken to using those electric orange yellow powder packages of cheese … [Read more...]
Meatless Monday: Baked Potatoes
Ok, so I know that we did Twice Baked Potatoes last week, but potatoes are a great multipurpose staple, and, if you shop on a budget like us, you are likely to buy them in 5-10 pound bags. Potatoes keep for a while, but not indefinitely, so it's smart to plan a few meals around … [Read more...]
March 2012 Monthly Meal Plan
Our Monthly Meal Plan has kind of become a staple of our budgeting process. Rather than planning for meals from week to week, we put in a little extra time and effort and knock it out right away. It takes a little discipline, but sticking to the plan can keep costs down and … [Read more...]
Meatless Monday: Twice Baked Potatoes
Sometimes going meatless doesn't mean doing anything particularly fancy or outside of the box. It can mean taking a basic, well-loved recipe and simply removing a small part of it. This is what we did this week with twice-baked potatoes. Usually, when we make these, we include … [Read more...]
Meatless Monday: Vegetable Minestrone
Some days you just know that Monday night is going to be a little rough. That's when the good old slow cooker is worth its weight in gold! So this Monday, we've pulled out our trusty copy of Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly and have made a Vegetable Minestrone. The thing that … [Read more...]
Meatless Monday: Stuffed Peppers
Finally, the hardest part of our journey comes to an end. Our six-week vegan diet period is over, but we still have another six weeks of vegetarian fare ahead of us. When we say vegetarian, we are including honey and dairy products (including eggs) in our diet, but all flesh … [Read more...]
February 2012 Monthly Meal Plan
Our Monthly Meal Plan has kind of become a staple of our budgeting process. Rather than planning for meals from week to week, we put in a little extra time and effort and knock it out right away. It takes a little discipline, but sticking to the plan can keep costs down and … [Read more...]
Meatless Monday: Black Bean and Rice Burritos
So we are officially into Week 5 of our New Year's diet plan. That means that we are still on a vegan diet, but we can eat bread and actually feel full from time to time. That's kind of a nice feeling. The problem is that we are both quickly getting a bit bored and the comfort … [Read more...]
Meatless Monday: Spinach Pesto and Mushroom Pizza
This week, we finally finished the 2012 Whole Living Action Plan, a three week detox. The plan left me hungry, craving every bad food that you can imagine, and generally feeling yucky all over. At the end of the plan, though, I am down 20 pounds and a pant size, my energy … [Read more...]
Meatless Monday: Chickpea-Brown Rice Veggie Burger
So here it is, the last week of our 21-day challenge. Finally, we get to add grains back into our diet (grains, yes, but gluten, no). It was soooo nice to feel full again yesterday! We thought we would try out this Chickpea-Brown Rice Veggie Burger. We aren't usually big fans … [Read more...]