What We Ate Last Week
Well friends, let's just say that the Humiston house is a depressed one this morning after last night's Jets game. Luckily I didn't add fuel to the fire with a lame-o, faux green cake...
but overall, the Jets loss was one giant bummer.
On a more exciting note, today marks the end of meatless week. I've learned a few things over the last week:
1. Giving up meat was not very difficult. We found so many other options to keep us on track that I didn't once miss chicken, ground turkey or even burgers.
2. It's all about the plan. I had a pretty tight meal plan for the week and even when it got side tracked (by my refusal to cook on Friday evening after work), we still had no problems keeping the course.
3. I don't think I could ever give up meat forever. While I'm not planning to run right out for a chicken sandwich this afternoon, I still maintain that I could never truly give up meat for good. I love meatballs. And a solid steak. And dang it, I love a good cheeseburger. But I can certainly cut some of the daily meat-intake out in favor of a more veggie-based diet. After all, I lost 3 lbs this week, so that has to mean something.
So want to know how it went down? Here's what we ate over the last week.
What We Ate Last Week
Monday
Lunch: peanut butter & jelly on a sandwich thin, 2 clementines
Dinner: mushroom and onion frittata with broccoli and cauliflower
Tuesday
Lunch: Black-eyed pea & kale soup, roasted sweet potatoes, parsnips & carrots
Dinner: My bro-in-law was over so the boys ordered pizza. I stole a small slice and had a little brown rice & bean casserole.
Wednesday
Lunch: Brown rice & bean casserole and roasted sweet potatoes, parsnips and carrots were involved.
Dinner: I had dinner at La Carbonara with a good friend. We shared a buffalo mozzarella and tomato salad and for dinner, I had rigatoni with eggplant, tomatoes and fresh ricotta. Definitely not missing meat here.
Thursday
Lunch: I was in Philly for work and had a tomato and mozzarella sandwich with salad.
Dinner: Homemade pizza. I picked up some whole wheat pizza dough, layered on some sauce, low fat cheese and mushrooms.
Friday
Lunch: Black-eyed pea & kale soup
Dinner: I originally planned to make a vegetable stir fry but refused to cook, so we ordered Indian food. We got a palak paneer (spinach with cheese cubes), an okra and cauliflower dish and garlic naan.
Saturday
Lunch: We were on the go, so we had some bananas, Babybel cheese and clementines. (This is not recommended as a full lunch! We were starving and super sleepy after a morning workout)
Dinner: We went to Cara Mia in NYC - I had eggplant parm, he had a mushroom papardelle dish.
Sunday
Lunch: I made yummy eggs, toast, and cut up fruit for brunch, post-gym.
Dinner - We had a hodge podge of game day eats, including crab dip, homemade potato chips and coconut shrimp.
So there you have it. The roundup of our Meatless Challenge. Oh and to add more protein, we ate a lot of Chobani Greek yogurt. Overall, both Shaun and I loved all the food that we ate this week! We tried lots of new dishes and kept it interesting. So what do you think? Did you eat any new/fun/exciting dishes over the last week?
11 Comments | January 24, 2011 | Share Article | Email Article | tagged meatless | in Inspired Eats Print Article | Permalink
Reader Comments (11)
Congrats on a successful meatless week AND losing weight!! Today is my last vegan day, yay! This amount of diet restriction is no way to live, however skipping the meat can be reasonable. I definitely agree that planning helps tremendously!
I made beets...and blogged about it!
Congrats on making it through a whole week sans meat! I agree it is not that difficult you just have to use your imagination! I agree that I could never be completely vegetrian/vegan but I try my best to make that my diet 80-90% of the time! Kudos! Your meals look/sound wonderful!
Congrats on your meatless week! When I did my veggie trial a year ago, I was surprised to find it so easy - plus I was filled up with delicious veggies and whole grains! I didn't intend to never eat meat again either - and to this day, if I really wanted meat I would eat it - but I think having that option available has made it easier for me to not eat meat. I don't feel deprived - mentally, I know that if I really felt like eating some chicken, I would just do it!
Great work!
sorry to hear about the jets! admittedly, i'm a giants fan, but after their disappointing no-show in the playoffs, i of course had to root for the other NY team! i'm originally from central NJ, and my husband grew up in JC, so it'll be fun to read your food adventures around our old stomping grounds! we both miss home so much. anyway, great blog and take care! :)
I got a lovely Trader Joe's gift package in the mail from a friend, so my eats are certainly much more exciting at the moment! I made a pizza one night and pasta the next with the same ingredients - spinach, mushrooms, oysters, and TJ's red pepper sauce, and they were both out of this world good!
congrats on your meat free week! i did it for 3 months and then decided that i didn't want to give up meat altogether. my experiment definitely helped me cut back and try lots of new things. i pretty much just eat meat at dinner now and even then, there are some things I just prefer vegetarian! and weight loss is always a bonus ;)
We had fajitas..not new, but fun. Glad you got through another meatless week without hating it! It's not fun when you don't enjoy your food!
That's awesome about the meatless week and the weight loss! I too think I won't miss meat that much but am not ready to give it up!
That frittata looks like heaven on a plate! You could totally use this post for my what I ate Wednesday link up party!!! or you can take photos for another day if you'd like -- but either way! come party at the blog-izzle on Wed! <3
xoxo
Jenn
mmm just seeing the words "buffalo mozza" makes me hungry hehe!
wow that cake tho, normally green doesnt look appetizing when it comes to dessert but id love a big ol slice of that!! <3
Congratulations on a successful meat-free week! I discovered fennel this week! I've never cooked with it before but I got a good price on it so I thought I'd try it. I made a terrific Cauliflower Fennel soup, and also a great salad (both on my blog if you want to take a look). I find that trying interesting vegetables helps keep things exciting, especially in winter when there are no local tomatoes or basil here in New Jersey (sob, sob).