Vegetarian Challenge Day 13 & 14: Veggie Nachos & Szechwan Stir-fry

Bryce’s vegetarian challenge

Day 13!

Breakfast:
Blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs, hash browns

Lunch:
Beer, crudites, and cookies that were had at my book club meeting 

Dinner:
Pear & Gorgonzola Salad, sweet potato fries, and spinach & artichoke dip at
The Elephant Bar

Snack:
Popcorn & Cherry coke (We went to see “Skyfall!”)

Up until this point, I hadn’t noticed any changes going on in my body. The back-to-back days that I had a salad for dinner helped me to drop a couple pound, but that’s about it. No noticeable changes to report.

Day 14!

There was a Packer game on! We decided that we wanted to grill out
(because this is California and you can still do that in November!)

Breakfast:
Cereal

Snack:
Veggie Nachos

Lunch:
Morningstar burgers (Tomato basil & spicy black bean), sweet potato fries,
vegetarian baked beans & grilled pineapple rings

Dinner:
Szechwan stir-fry

Veggie Nachos

When you’re watching football, sometimes you just need to eat things like nachos. Just cuz you toss in some delicious veggies, doesn’t mean it’s no longer a messy treat.

Ingredients

• Scoops
• Black beans
• Shredded mexican cheese
• Green pepper, chopped
• Shredded lettuce
• Diced tomato
• Low-fat sour cream

Directions

1. Pour scoops onto a dinner plate. Spread evenly with the scoop side up
2. Cover in shredded cheese then top with black beans, green pepper and diced tomato
3. Microwave on high for 1 minute or until cheese melts
4. Top with shredded lettuce and a dollop of sour cream 

Szechwan Stir-fry

My mother-in-law sent this recipe to me (Thanks Pauline!) This is probably my favorite new recipe that I tried out during these past two weeks. So hooray for going out with a bang!!

Ingredients

• 8 ounces firm tofu, drained
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1-2 teaspoons hot chili oil (I used sesame chili oil)
• 1/2 teaspoons whole fennel seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup sliced green onions
• 3 medium carrots, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, mined
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
• 1/4 pound mushrooms, sliced
• 1 medium red pepper, cut into 1 inch squares
• 1/4 pound snow peas, cut diagonally in half
• 8 ounces broccoli florets, steamed
• 1/2 cup peanuts
• 4-6 cups hot cooked rice

 

Directions 

1.  Slice the tofu block horizontally into 2 pieces.  Place on cutting board between layers of paper towels.  Put another board or plate on top.  Add a weight to press moisture out of the tofu.  Let stand about 15 minutes.
2.  Cut tofu into cubes; place in bowl & add the following marinade:  Orange juice, soy sauce, chili oil, fennel seeds and black pepper.  Let stand 15-60 minutes.  Drain, reserving marinade.

3.  Stir the broth into the cornstarch and mix it into the reserved marinade.  Set aside.

4.  Heat oil in wok or large skillet, add onions, carrots, garlic and ginger and stir-fry 3 minutes.  Add tofu, mushrooms, bell pepper and snow peas, stir-fry 2-3 minutes, then add broccoli.

5.  Stir cornstarch mixture into wok and cook 1-2 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

6. Stir in peanuts and serve over rice.

Thanks for all your input and encouragement! The past two weeks turned out to be pretty easy, but I don’t think I can go complete vegetarian from here on out. However, now that I now how to make some really good meatless dishes, I’m going to be cutting back on meat in the future.

xo,
Bryce