Lazy Sunday....

I don't have any adventure pictures this weekend, because we didn't go anywhere. Friday night was black-eyed peas, steamed broccoli and sliced tomatoes. Saturday night was left over lentil soup. Tonight, I made butternut squash chili though I didn't make it very spicy, because my sweetie was going to eat some too, and he thinks I make things too spicy. I cooked up my own combination of beans. Then I added green chili, fire roasted crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, butternut squash, onion and red bell pepper. I then added various spices including ancho and chipotle powder. I also made a spinach salad with tomato, red onion and yellow bell pepper. My dinners were fat free with the exception of the little fat in the saltine crackers I had with my chili tonight. I didn't exercise this weekend either, so it will be interesting to see what the scale will say tomorrow.

Eat'n McDougall Style

Tonight's dinner was fat free with steamed brussells sprouts, spinach salad topped with salsa and a side of corn. I am going to start eating McDougall style again. I will be doing the MWL (Maximum Weight Loss) with lots of greens and veggies. I have been eating this way on and off for about six months and have lost weight. Almost twenty pounds, but I find that when I eat vegetarian including eggs and cheese that I maintain my weight instead of losing. I weighed in at 146 this morning, and I have a goal of 115, which may be too skinny, but I will have to get down to that weight to see.

I want to use this blog to help keep me accountable, as well as sort of a food journal. I will still have culinary and other adventures, even of the vegetarian type (cheese and eggs included on special occasions). For now, I want to stay vegan and fat free to see if I can get down to my goal. After all, swim suit season is just around the corner....

I don't want to do this just for weight loss, but for health. I have been really overweight most of my adult life, and it would be nice to get back down to a weight that I feel good at.

Fat Tuesday's Leftovers

Tonight's dinner was leftover Fat Tuesday's Skinny Red Beans from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites over white rice with steamed yellow and zucchini squash and a spinach salad. This recipe was wonderful and flavorful, as well as very filling. I biked around the neighborhood for exercise, as well as walked a mile on my lunch break with one of my co-workers. Once again the weather was beautiful and I didn't want to stay inside.

Weekend in Nature.....

Saturday afternoon we took a drive up to Prescott and was greeted by snow! It was so beautiful to see the snow on the ground. It was still a bit chilly on the mountain, but in town, it wasn't that bad.

Here is a picture of the snow still on the mountains.

Water was running everywhere, which is a very good thing as we have been in a drought. On our drive up the mountain we could see yellow Mexican Poppies all over the Bradshaw's. I haven't seen this many wild flowers in a very long time.

After dark we decided to go back into town to get dinner. I wanted to stop at the New Frontiers Natural Market place, just to check it out. This ended up being the place I got my dinner from. Unfortunately, it was dark and I didn't get a picture, but they made me the best veggie burger ever. I have never had a homemade veggie burger before, but I think I am going to have to start making them. I think I gushed about that burger the whole way home. :) It was amazing....

We spent our Sunday at the Desert Botanical Garden here in Phoenix. The weather was beautiful, and it was a perfect day to be out. We saw lots of cactus, flowers and even took a hike through their Sonoran Desert Trail.

They had a butterfly exhibit, with thirty two species of butterflies. You can walk through the exhibit and take pictures of the butterflies landing everywhere. I had two land on my head.

Here is another butterfly blending into it's surroundings.

Dinner tonight was very simple. Organic vegetarian ranch beans with steamed asparagus, sliced cucumbers and spinach salad topped with fat free salsa.

Breakfast Smoothies

For my morning breakfast I have been making chocolate smoothies. I add Nature's First Law raw cocoa, living hemp powder, wild blue green algae, frozen cherries, goji berry powder and oatmeal. I blend this in my vita mix with some raw agave nectar and either almond, soy, rice, or oat milk. This is so yummy, it's like drinking a super chocolate milk!

I also got my shipment from Nature's First Law today. Every time I get a shipment from them it's like Christmas. I got some more things to put in my smoothies including acai powder to put in my berry drinks and some herbs to make tea.

A Cold Bike Ride and Dinner

Tonight me and my sweetie went for a bike ride. It has been very warm for the past few days, but when I went to pull my bike out of the garage, I realized that I needed to change into pants and put on a sweater. It was a bit chilly, but at least we rode around the neighborhood for about twenty minutes. I have been riding all week, and my legs are quite sore. I just felt like I couldn't peddle my bike very far, but it got better as we rode on.

When we got back, I made Lemony Couscous with Broccoli from Vegan Express by Nava Atlas. I cut the fat by using the non-oily sun dried tomatoes. I also added swiss chard along with the broccoli. This was good, but I think next time I will add lemon zest to make the lemon flavor more pronounced. For the side, I had some steamed brussels sprouts and a sliced roma tomato. I topped the couscous with a dollop of Greek yogurt, which made this meal a vegetarian meal instead of a vegan meal. I just felt like it needed the yogurt. You know it's just two bad I am the only couscous eater in our family of two.......There are a ton of leftovers.

Soup and Salad Night

Tonight I had homemade tomato and fennel soup from The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen, along with a spinach salad and steamed broccoli. I was never a fan of tomato soup, but a few months ago I tried some at Whole Foods, and decided that I liked it. So when I saw the recipe, I thought I wanted to try it. I wasn't sure how it would taste with the fennel, but oh my gosh, it was amazing. I am now a confirmed lover of tomato soup.

P.S. Gramps turned 89 years old today, and he is getting his exercise. I am so proud of him.

Big Horn Sheep Sighting, and a Mediterranean Kitchen

Today we went on our first boating trip of the year to Lake Pleasant. It was a little cold first thing in the morning, but as the day wore on, it got a little warmer. You can't see them in this picture, but there were yellow poppies all over this little hill. We rested in a little cove with the view of this poppy covered hill. We both napped a little then went trolling around the lake.

This morning I saw the coolest thing ever. I was driving the boat trailer up to park it, and a big horn sheep trotted right in front of me! It was kind of like a slow motion, I can't believe my eyes sort of moment. I reached for my camera, but darn it, it was in the boat. He was such a beautiful animal. I have never seen one in the wild before. He must have come down to the lake to take a drink. This special sighting made the day even more amazing.

Dinner tonight was a Classic Italian Minestrone soup inspired by The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen by Donna Klein. I used orzo for the pasta and I made it a vegetarian meal by adding Romano and Parmesan cheese as a garnish. I had salad left over from last night on the side. The soup was delicious, and I have a ton left over. I will be freezing half, and eating the other half this week.

Springtime Hiking and Yummy Italian Food

We went for a three mile hike this morning in the northern part of Phoenix. The weather was beautiful and wildflowers were everywhere. I think we got to the mountain about nine thirty and was done hiking by eleven thirty.

We didn't hike all the way around the mountain, because I forgot the extra water in the truck, but we did hike to the top. You can see the trail we came back on in the picture above.

It was so cool, on the way down, I heard some birds "talking" to each other. I turned around and saw this quail, so I got out my zoom lens and got a shot of this beauty behind the chaparral bush.

After a day of hiking, shopping and visiting my parents, I came home and made my sweetie and Italian meal of angel hair pasta with my homemade tomato sauce. I added garlic, an onion, a zucchini and a yellow bell pepper to two cans of fire roasted tomatoes. This was seasoned with salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, oregano and basil. It was really yummy. I also made a spinach salad with yellow tomatoes, red onion, red bell pepper and pine nuts. Dinner was done in thirty minutes. (My kind of dinner!)