Vegan Dinner Menus: 2/7-2/13

So, I haven't posted in almost a year.

I know, I know. Terrible of me. A lot of things have happened in the last year, but in quick summary (in no particular order): I completely transitioned to a fully vegan diet and kept with it, I was in "Hair" and "Chicago", I got "too thin" to plus-size model (I know, the irony), I didn't exercise much, I got a dog, some people I cared about passed away, and we went to Disney World. Kind of a mixed-bag there, I know.

After I settled fully into veganism, I noticed myself teetering perilously close to falling into the dreaded category of being a "junk food vegan." Don't know what that means? French fries and tater tots (most of the time), potato chips, and even some crazy stuff like movie popcorn (yeah, that's not butter--it's palm oil) can fall into the vegan category. Basically, it's eating convenience foods because you don't (allegedly) have the time to cook a healthy meal. It's kind of like my lack of regular blog-posting--it's just easier to update your Facebook status three times a day rather than organizing your thoughts into something that makes sense.

Recently, I have decided to cook dinner every night. And that doesn't mean nuking a pizza, although I am still guilty of doing that for the two small excessively picky eaters who dwell with us. Surprisingly, after a couple days of this, John volunteered to let me off work two hours early each day if I was going home to make dinner. With that development, I began to actively plan a week's worth of dinners. Lunch is leftovers and whatever else is in the house. (I always keep salad fixings and healthy frozen dinners on hand, just in case.) I just finished my first week, and I must say it went really well. Although my husband is not a vegan, if the dinner is DELICIOUS, he doesn't care that we are eating a predominantly vegan diet (at least in the evenings.)

The kids are another story altogether. They will agree to eat very few things (pizza, chicken nuggets/tenders, fish sticks on a good day, more pizza, cereal, waffles, more pizza, etc.,) and Rachel has recently decided that she won't eat peanut butter anymore either. At least we buy jelly/preserves without high fructose corn syrup in them, since we're essentially feeding her sugar sandwiches half the time. And forget about visibly seasoning dinner--"there's DIRT in my food!" Garlic and onion powders and salt are about all I can do with them if I want dinner to be eaten.

I hear it all the time "just make them eat what you're eating. They won't starve." That's easier said than done when your kids only live with you part of the time, and go home to another house where getting them to eat spaghetti-o's is considered a major healthy accomplishment. And these girls, lovely and delicate and bright as they are, are downright belligerent about saying they are full, even if they've barely touched their dinner. They don't mind going hungry...they'd prefer it to trying something new. And it's hard not to get your feelings a bit hurt when you've slaved over something, they touch it to their tongue briefly, drop it like it's poison, and whine "I don't liiiiiike it! Can I be excused?" I've learned to pick my battles carefully. I also know that it won't always be like this. While I ate everything as a child, my brother (who is now a chef who works for one of Emeril's establishments) once only ate bread and meat sandwiches (with cheese and ketchup when he was feeling frisky) and didn't want the things on his plate to touch. Heck, I know grownups who still fit into that category! So, frankly, I've decided that the dinner table should be a peaceful place and not a war zone, and we'll just do our best where they are concerned.

Here's what we ate for dinner this past week, and how it was received:

For the Super Bowl, I made multi-layered vegan nachos with vegan nacho cheese and homemade "sour cream." I also made spinach dip, which was outstanding. Vegennaise, to me, tastes more fattening than most mayonnaises you can get. Definitely falls into "Blue Plate" territory.

Monday was "Mexasian" night. Basically, I wanted to have a night of my favorite finger foods and snacks. I made veggie sushi and guacamole. This was my first time making sushi, and it didn't look very aesthetically pleasing. However, it was tasty as all get-out. The guacamole, as usual (we've been making it forever) was fantastic.

Tuesday we had the girls with us. I made English Muffin pizzas (some English muffins are vegan, you just have to study the ingredients) that we ate with julienned carrot and celery sticks on the side. I make tomato sauce now, since it tastes as good as the jarred stuff. I used regular mozzarella for the girls and John's pizzas with fake cheese for mine. I included shaved onion and thin slices of mushrooms on mine just to veg it up some more. The girls ate all their vegetable sticks, which I was very glad of, since that meant they got to have dessert. I had baked a loaf of Coconut-Lime Banana Bread the night before, and the kids (and grown-ups) truly enjoyed that.

Wednesday was a snow day. I made some vegan hot cocoa after we came in from playing in the snow. The kids ate leftover pizza for dinner. The grown-ups started with a Greek Salad (news flash--tofu marinated in lemon juice with salt tastes close to Feta.) I made a rich, velvety Red Onion Soup and floated some toasted baguette slices on top. Yum! John really enjoyed the soup, but things with a lot of onion are usually too rich for him to eat too much of.

Thursday the girls went back to their mom's house. The adults had leftover night. Ain't grazing fun? I'm going to build in at least two leftover nights per week to make sure everything gets eaten. (We eat leftovers for lunch each day as well.)

Friday night I baked a whole-wheat herbed flatbread to eat with our Quinoa Kitchari. Kitchari is an ayurvedic word that essentially means "two grains together." This dish included quinoa AND lentils, and was seasoned by a small onion and (brace yourselves) eight WHOLE CLOVES of garlic. John probably raved about this dish more than anything I made this week. Guess which obscure grain is back on the shopping list for next week?

Tonight I'm going to a small-group church dinner. I was asked to bring a "starch." I'm making another pot of the quinoa to take with me, so that I will have something that I know I can eat that is very filling. (I picked all the garlic out, as I know some people are downright vampirish in their aversion to garlic.) John has a daddy-daughter dance at the school, so he elected to go the frozen pizza route for spite.

Tomorrow I've planned to make a cashew-crusted tofu and to make a broccoli salad on the side. I might also bake (to eat later) some Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme biscuits, just because the recipe intrigued me.

Here's what I'm thinking about for next week, although I haven't assigned a day to each recipe yet:

Taboulleh and Hummus
Tofu & Snow Pea Stir Fry
Kale & Slow-Baked Lima Beans (John actually got this recipe from the NY Times)
Tofu Enchiladas
Mock Crab Cakes (a la Monica Robinson) with Caldo Blend Vegetables (think the stuff that boils with your shrimp)
Spaghetti with Tofu Balls

For a dessert to try, I think I'm going with Peanut Butter Balls, although I think John might make a blueberry pie...and may talk me into making a "Cheese"cake as well. For the kids, I think I'll make grilled PB&J sandwiches. It takes it to the next level.

Next week, I'll report on how it went.