Being thankful for today.

Today, I played hookie. Hooky? Hookee? I don't even know how to spell it- that's how often I cut class.

Anyway.
I picked up my new car, decided on homemade chili with cornbread for dinner, and got home...to Chad already at home and an air freshener for my new car, with a card on the table. A "random" act of love.

Thank you, Chad, for being my best friend and for being so amazingly wonderful to me lately even while I've been sick and too exhausted to do much more than make the bed.

That's all I really have to say today, but I will leave you with some silly pictures that I've been meaning to show.


Carson likes to hug Chad's leg while he snuggles.


I will probably never read a recipe all the way through before attempting it. This is what I had to google when I got all of my ingredients boiled, mixed, stirred, and...what? You need an ice cream machine?!...


While I do my homework, Carson lets me pretend I have a dog....he sleeps like one.


Thank you Chad, for letting me take pictures of the food that turns out half-okay before I allow you to dig in. Stuffed portobellos, salad, and tofu. Successful evening.


I know, Carson overload. But...Chad made this. Carson is in LOVE.


And here's my new car. :)

Big News!

I just wanted to let all of you know something BIG.
Like, REALLY. REALLY. BIG.

I just made lunch.
Chad sat down.
Chad bit into lunch.
Chad loved lunch!

and...for one of the first times, I LOVED what I made!


Thank you Emma @ She Got Married once again for posting such a deelish recipe for your squash & tofu veggie burgers!

Tofu Squash Burgers
Makes 6 patties

1/2 pound tofu -- crumbled
1 pound yellow squash -- grated
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
1 small onion -- minced
1 teaspoon tarragon
1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon oil

(Serves 3)

Mix all the ingredients (except oil) in a bowl. Form 6 patties and fry in
oil over medium-high heat for 5 minutes until brown on one side. Turn and
fry 5 minutes longer. Serve hot on whole wheat buns.

Per Serving (2 patties) : calories 247, Protein: 14g, carbohydrates: 30g, fat 10 g

Alright- there will never be a day I follow a recipe the exact way it calls for it- so here were my subsitutions.

I used spaghetti squash. It was what I had.
Instead of wheat germ, I used 100% natural oatmeal.

Ok, that's it. Oh, and I didn't have whole wheat flour so we used the white. (I'm using my white flour up and switching to wheat- okay?)

Chad and I had some light wheat bread so we used that as "buns" but I ate my second burger with no bread. Deelish, full of veggies, and my boyfriend had a yummy start to his day. This means I'm one step closer to being an ultimate home maker.

Update- the vegful life of me.

(Not my photo- found with google.com- doesn't it look great though?!)

I admit. I haven't had a CLUE of what I wanted to blog about the past couple of days. Yesterday I considered telling you all that a 15 minute Biggest Loser workout absolutely did me in and I was sore instantly. Nope, why would I EVER admit that?
So here's a little taste of what I've been eating as a vegetarian: (list is not huge as I've only been "back" a few days!)

Breakfasts:
Oatmeal with nuts & dried cranberries + squash
Egg white omelets with spinach
Protein Shakes on those busy days!

Lunches:
Tofu-pup (soy hot dog) in light wheat bread
Salad with lots of veggies & tomato

Dinners:
Spaghetti Squash
Veggie Burgers (home made!)
Veggie pizza ;)

This was originally going to be my only posting today.

But this morning I got to thinking about my lovely coffee date yesterday with a friend. Okay. This friend. As we were leaving, she said, "I think you should go home and cook." I laughed at her. But...I went home and decided to cook a fantastic vegetarian dinner for my lovely boyfriend and I to enjoy before going out for a couple drinks at this place.

I started by cutting a spaghetti squash in half, generously putting sea-salt and pepper over it and put it in the oven for about 15 minutes. Then, I saw that I had tofu in the fridge. Right then and there, I yelled to Chad, "we're also having vegetarian meatballs."

I'm slightly embarrassed to say that my tofu-mixed-with-onion-&-rice meatballs did NOT hold one bit, and it ended up being some flavourless, rice-y and tofu-ey mixture. I'm new at this. I wasn't thinking. Woops!

The spaghetti squash, tomato-basil sauce, and my weird vegetarian mixture were on the table. I promised Chad I wouldn't be upset if he didn't eat the weird mush I made.

I LOVE this boy for trying my concoctions regardless of how they may look, and for always finishing his plate and telling me how wonderful my food came out. This is true love. And I'm honestly not completely sure if he MEANS that it is so wonderful, but it's definitely a motivation to keep trying!

When mixed with the spaghetti squash, we had a delightful and flavourful meal that was packed with protein from the tofu and got plenty of veggies from the "pasta."

Afterwards, we went out on a wonderful date and enjoyed Guiness at the Irish Pub down the road, along with Irish music & Trivial Pursuit. I love our nights off together.

Enjoy your Sunday!
xo- me

The trek back to Veg

As those who know me personally are aware, I was a vegetarian for about 10 years. On-again-off-again (but mostly on again), I consumed fish, dairy, and eggs.

About a year ago, I decided to try a burger. My boyfriend was an avid meat eater and had tried being a vegetarian for about 3 months for me. I never asked him to, he just did, out of respect I suppose.
Back to me. The burger was fantastic. I mean...really, really good. I kept eating steak and chicken and fish and steak and steak and chicken..(I tried pork, STILL hated it, and I won't touch lamb.)

Lately, though, I've been having the same "feelings" as I did when I was a vegetarian. (Think Food Inc. . Nothing about the meat here is ethical. The way chickens are raised isn't ethical. The FDA "standards" are not ethical.

So, where I love my burgers and I love my steaks, I think it is time for me to go back to where I had been comfortable for so long.
Vegetarianism.
Will I miss my burgers? Yup. Will I miss steaks? Sure. Do I love chicken? Yes. But there are ways to create the same dishes out of different types of foods. This will also force me to stand in the kitchen for longer than five minutes and cook. To get out of my comfort zone of the microwaveable food section.

Part of me has that "I'm too busy to make my meals! WhatamIgonnado?!" feeling, but as I write this, keep in mind I'm sitting on my butt waiting for my laundry to be finished. (Okay- I'm also sitting on my butt while being super duper sicky. Not the point.) I think this is actually quite doable for me again.

Just to officially "start" my trek, here's what I've eaten so far today:


Breakfast-
Squash & oatmeal with dried cranberries, walnuts, and a small squirt of maple syrup (Thanks Emma @ She Got Married ! )

Lunch-
Planning on a "tofu pup" hot dog. Not sure what else yet. Possibly just a serving of veggies to be thoroughly fantastic and veg-ful.

Feeling light and airy already...
xo-me