So in the UK it is National Vegetarian week, and as I have been veggie for, hmm, a long time now (I think officially 15 years, but really for longer!) I thought I should give it a mention. I am sometimes a little bit of a cynic with these National days and weeks, and this one is sponsored by Cauldron foods (who make veggie foods) so for them it is a lot of free press too. And some of the leaflets and information packs are a little full of scare tactics etc too. Aside from the ethical and health reasons (which I won’t go into), there are other reasons to eat less meat, as producing meat takes up a lot more of the worlds’ resources such as water (because you have to grow crops to feed the animals etc.), so I think it is worth even meat eaters to cut down a bit. But anyway, back to the food.
As some of you know, Andy is a meat eater, so some of our meals are separate(or we start with the same base, and he adds some meat in a separate pot. But, there are some meals we both eat now which are totally meat free, so maybe good for someone who eats meat to give it a try.
Mexican bean wraps served with a salad are a popular meal in our household. The beans are chunky and filling, and the spices give it a strong flavour (add as much chilli as you can take!), plus you could add whatever veggies you like to the wraps.
Roasted vegetable calzone is another popular one. If we eat out, Andy will often choose a (meat) calzone, but this one is also very tasty!
Lentil chilli is one of my faves (but you could use any beans/ pulses).
Chickpea stew is another one which I love.
I have also discovered silken tofu- I initially loved in in Pumpkin pasta bake, but I have had success using it in lasagne dishes too- it goes all creamy and really delicious so give it a go.
So veggies and non veggies alike, what would your choice of veggie food be this week?
Onto today. First of all thanks for all the wishes and huffing and puffing regarding the ash cloud (and thanks Rose for your good luck post– made me very excited!). I am trying not to worry because at the end of the day there is nothing else I can do. At Christmas we went to the airport the night before, just in case the motorways were too snowy (and it nearly worked) but here there is nothing like that, so I am going to try to chill!
I was sad to realise that my training plan has come to an end.
Look at all the ticks and stuff written all over. I even kept the same red pen by it because I wanted to keep it all the same. Except for the black pen in the bottom corner (this is about a local 5K in the Autumn that was advertised and I wanted to write the details down and this was my only paper option!).
It seems crazy that all those weeks have flown by, and all those miles have been run.
Dinner today was a veggie hotch potch- some roasted pepper, courgette, beetroot, with basil tofu (yum I have not had this for ages and I had forgotten how yummy it is), spinach and food doctor seeds.
Yum! Another good recipe for veggie week.
Last night I had a nice snack too- I heated some pumpkin puree with a little molasses and cinnamon, and then swirled it into some ginger yoghurt.
Scrumptious 🙂
In fact I might have some more this evening.
Night
This was nice and nutty- massive chunky nuts in there, but also very sweet and sugary- too early to call it carb loading I think!
(This was not the off-cut, it just shows the layer of blondie and icing)
And of course any excuse for me to use my new measuring cups! This is the base + topping waiting to go in the fridge.
And this is a slice on my plate (spoonful so you can see the base).
It really is that good! 🙂