Veggie Burgers?

I have always loooooved a good hamburger.  Like-really loved them.  I never ate a whole lot of other red meat, but I do love burgers.  I decided to try the Boca Vegan burger the other day, and was really surprised at how good it was.  It has a different texture, but the flavor itself is really good!  I paired it with Alexa onion rings, EEK! non-Vegan Annie's bunny macaroni, and Tofutti sour cream topped red potatoes.  It was a filling, easy meal that let me use up some of our "old diet" foods that were still in the pantry :)

So-if you are hesitant to try the Boca burgers, don't worry!  They are really good :)  Just make sure to check that they are "Vegan" on the box.  Some often use eggs to bind the ingredients, and can also include meat.

I topped mine with Veganaise, romaine lettuce, and about a tablespoon of Daiya cheddar cheese shreds (soy).  Very tasty!

Recipe: Spinach Stuffed Shells

This was really easy, really yummy, and a different way to get in a pasta dish.  It reminded me a little bit of lasagna...

Ingredients:

1 box of large pasta shells

1 large jar organic pasta sauce

1 cup of frozen spinach, lightly steamed

"ricotta" cheese

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350*

Bring 20 pasta shells to a boil in lightly salted water.

In a food processor, add 8 oz firm tofu, 1 tsp agave nectar, 1 tsp cider vinegar, and 3-4T nutritional yeast.  Blend until smooth.  Add steamed spinach and blend until creamy.

When pasta is al dente, pour into strainer, and rinse with cool water.  Pour 1/2 c pasta sauce into a glass casserole dish and cover the bottom.  Stuff spinach mixture into the shells.  I scooped my ricotta/spinach blend into a gallon Ziploc with the corner snipped to help fill the shells easily.

Layer the shells side-by-side.  Cover with the remaining pasta sauce (not pictured)  Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, covered.

School Lunch: Peanut Butter Wrap

Easy peasy lunch for Taylor!  Whole wheat tortilla with natural peanut butter, coconut milk, yellow pear tomatoes, berries/raisins for "dessert".

Yay for Internet!!!!

Internet went out for a few days! Lots of posts and pics to come :)

Meal Plan: April 7-13

Saturday:
Lunch:  Spinach and "Ricotta" stuffed shells, salad, homemade bread
Dinner:  Mock Chicken Salad, baby carrots, crackers
Sunday:
Lunch:  Squash Casserole (vegetarian-contains organic cream of mushroom soup)roasted Brussels sprouts, organic macaroni and cheese (vegetarian), baked sweet   potato
Dinner:  PB/J, fruit, Leftovers
Monday:
Lunch:  Minestrone and salad
Dinner:  Boca Spicy Chikn Patty on Bun, Cheezy Potatoes, Asparagus
Tuesday:

Lunch:  Mock Chikn Salad with crackers and romaine, fruit salad

Dinner:  "Breakfast for Dinner"  Whole-wheat pancakes with muscadine syrup, biscuits and  veggie sausage,smoothies, hashbrowns
Wednesday:

Lunch:  Pasta Salad with veggies and seeds, organic fruit strip

Dinner:  Red beans and rice, cornbread
Thursday:

Lunch:  Leftover RB and Rice

Dinner:  Burritos with vegan taco meat, refried beans, lettuce, tomato, guac, tofutti sour cream, pico de gallo, Mexican rice
Friday:

Lunch:  Leftover taco salad

Dinner:  Fants OR couscous, roasted red potatoes, onion rings, squash
Saturday:
Grocery Shopping Day!  Usually meal plan in the morning over coffee and pick up something for lunch.  I'm thinking pizza or sushi :)

What I'm Currently Reading

Earthlings

I have no words for this documentary...Heartbreaking?  Disturbing?  Lifechanging?

I originally quit eating meat for the health benefits, but at this point it goes far beyond that.

Click here to watch.

Warning:  there are extremely disturbing and violent scenes, some language from the factory workers.  Do not watch around kids :(