Following the Vegan Food Pyramid

The big news is that Jared asked me to marry him about a month ago.  With wedding dreams in my mind I have decided to kick my health up a notch with the hopes of a thinner wedding day for me!  

I found the vegan food pyramid online and we have been sticking to it.  This means no processed food, low amounts of fat, and a balance of fruit, veggies, protein and loads of whole grains.  I haven't eaten so much in my life!  In order to eat everything we need to in a day, there is absolutely no room for junk food anymore. 

Here are a few new recipes I tried out over the past week from Appetite for Reduction and Skinny Bitch in the Kitch.  Since both are low fat, high fiber and vegan cookbooks I will probably be cooking out of them for the majority of my meals.

I like to make a big pot of soup to eat throughout the week so I made Bistro Broccoli Chowder from Appetite for Reduction.   It was a creamy soup without the cream. It had onion, garlic, rosemary, potatoes, parsnips, broccoli, vegetable broth and almond milk.

 This is a granola recipe from Skinny Bitch in the Kitch.  It is filled with rolled oats, almonds, unsweetened coconut, salt, maple syrup, canola oil, raisins and currants. It is a high protein and high fiber snack that is delicious mixed into soy yogurt!

The recipe for Quinoa Puttanesca out of Appetite for Reduction is easily one of my favorite dishes that I have made in a long time.  It has quiona, olive oil, garlic, thyme, red pepper flakes, tarragon, marjoram, white wine, kalamata olives, capers, and crushed tomatoes.  Jared and I ate this as slowly as possible because we never wanted it to end.  It was salty, sweet, and tangy all at the same time.  Delicious!

To add more protein to the Quiona I made the Basic Baked Tofu.  This tasted far from basic.  I pressed the tofu for about an hour and marinated it in vegetable broth, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, thyme and minced garlic for another hour.  After marinating, it baked in the oven for about 30 minutes.  This tofu was the perfect texture.  It was full of flavor and had just the right amount of chewiness.  I made 2 batches of this before the week was over, because it goes well with anything and everything.  We also made the delicious discovery of putting it on whole grain bread with tomatoes and veganaise... Yum!  

For lunches we have been eating Garlicky White Bean Spread out of Skinny Bitch in the Kitch.  I made a giant pot of white beans from scratch for under $2.00 and it made 4 cans worth of beans.  Its a cheaper healthier way of eating beans.   To make the spread I tossed 1 1/2 cups of beans, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice in the food processor until it was super creamy.  Then I stirred in some fresh basil from my herb garden.  We love this spread and eat it with toasted sprouted bread and veggies.  It's tangy and garlicky and leaves you with rockin' garlic breath! 

This is a salad that we had with lunch along side of the white bean spread.  It had Balsamic Vinaigrette from Appetite for Reduction on it.  I love homemade salad dressing. Ever since I started making my own dressings I can't  eat the bottled stuff any more.  Since this is from a a healthy cookbook it has cashews instead of olive oil to add protein and make it creamy with out the cream.  It's my favorite Balsamic dressing in the world.  Yummers!