Food choices and vegan manicotti

In October of 2008, I read the now-notorious Skinny Bitch book. I didn't care for the tone of the book, but the scientific evidence advocating a diet free of animal products interested me. I decided to try to reduce animal products from my diet in a very serious way, and after sharing what I learned with Brian, he agreed to give it a try as well.  We had several "whoops" moments, and serious cravings to work though, but after 2 years I can say it has been an excellent decision. Now, I eat a plant-based diet with occasional small amounts of seafood and eggs. I'm not militant about it, but mindful.

One of the biggest changes this choice required was cooking from scratch. I'm embarrassed to say that the first year Brian and I lived together we ate a lot of Tuna Helper and Hamburger [Venison] Helper. Blechh. No wonder I gained 30 pounds! I relied on convenience foods high in fat, calories, and sodium, and low in nutritional value. Now I cook from scratch much of the time, and in March of this year I began calculating calorie content per serving. People unfamiliar with vegetarianism and veganism always ask me what I eat, and I eat most things others do, with small changes and more variety. I can make most any thing I want, and make it fit my nutritional choices (although I try not to rely on pre-packaged meat substitutes). I even made a mock-Hamburger Helper skillet meal because I was craving the taco flavor one. 

Tonight, I decided to make a family favorite with a twist. I loved my mom's manicotti as a kid. It was something she didn't make often because it took a lot of time, so I appreciated it a lot more when we had it. By combining her recipe with some tested-and-true vegan recipes, I was able to whip up an awesome supper. I started with the filling:

Vegan Spinach-"Ricotta" Filling (based on the Vegan With A Vengeance recipe)
2 boxes Mori-Nu Silken Tofu
2 tsp lemon juice
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 c. nutritional yeast
2 handfuls of fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup soy mozzarella-substitute cheeze
garlic salt, pepper, and your favorite Italian seasonings (basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, etc.)

Mash up the tofu with a fork, add the remaining ingredients and mix. All ready for your favorite recipes, like lasagna, baked ziti, stuffed shells, or even as a pizza topping.

Yummy!

 To assemble, I poured a little sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan (I use Hunt's No Sugar Added. It's cheap, and no HFCS). I next stuffed cooked manicotti noodles with my "ricotta" and placed them in the pan, sprinkled them with the remaining soy cheeze (from the 1/2 c. used in the "ricotta" filling), and poured the rest of the sauce over the top. I sprinkled some vegan Parmesan over the top because my mom always did. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes-1 hour, and ta-da!

I wish you could smell how awesome this is!

Made this way, there are 11 individual manicottis in this pan, at 175 calories each. It's cooling on the counter now while I'm waiting for Brian to come home. I'll probably have two tubes and a spinach salad with Italian dressing. Then I have to go back to bed, in advance of an overnight shift tonight. Have a great Saturday night, everyone!

Drive-By Posting

My past two weeks have been hectic, as I was asked to fill in full-time at my workplace for someone who is out for health issues. So I have been very busy, and when I wasn't busy I was on call! My knitting has been suffering, but I managed to bang out the sleeves for my handspun Cobblestone sweater (I'm thinking of calling it my Paris-Roubaix sweater, since I spun the yarn during the Tour de Fleece last summer). I even joined the whole thing together, and am up to the yoke now:

I'm hoping to get lots more done - because in addition to my fill-in position, I have to work my own overnight shifts this weekend. I was pretty disappointed that no one was willing/able to cover for me, but it's all overtime, so my Christmas will be a little more merry with that paycheck.

Brian and I made these awesome pumpkin shakes last night and watched some Warehouse 13. I really love that show, and reccomend it highly if you were an X-Files fan back in the day, like me. Here's a shot of our yummy shakes:

Super easy! A pint of vanilla soy ice cream, a cup and a half of frozen pumpkin, and enough soy milk to make it creamy. At first I thought I should have added sugar, but it really doesn't need it. I garnished mine with nutmeg and a vegan gingerbread roll-out cookie. (It's supposed to be a star!) Yum, we will be making these again! The calorie load, though... eek. It's a milkshake, though, so what do I expect?!?

Stay warm and knit fast, friends. By the way, what are you making for Thanksgiving?

Quick Supper

Okay, I wanted to make a quick supper when I got home from the Y today. So I made an easy favorite, the Chickpea Cutlets from The Veganomicon. I mashed up a cup of chickpeas in the food processor and added 1/2 cup each of wheat gluten and bread crumbs, as well as 1/4 cup of veggie broth and some soy sauce, hot sauce, and spices. I kneaded it all together and made 4 patties, baked at 375 for 25 minutes (flip after 15 minutes). I made some sauce using 2 Tbsp each of lite mayo & dairy-free sour cream and a few shakes of the AMAZING Fiesta mix my mother-in-law buys for me. I freaking love this stuff, its incredible. Like. Whoa.

I also threw some steak fries for Brian and some sweet potato spears for me on the Pizzaz. I toss my sweet potatoes in 2 tsp of olive oil, fresh cracked pepper, garlic salt and cumin. Yum. (FYI, I really love the Pizzaz, its super useful for all kinds of stuff, like veggie corndogs and nachos.)

So, here's a home-cooked vegan supper in about 30 minutes. I was able to write this blog post while everything baked, so it was really easy and hands-off. I should have really added some fresh veggies besides the sweet potatoes, but oh well. Clocks in at about 615 calories, according to my estimates based on calories from individual ingredients. Yes, I do the counts for every meal. Part of the weight loss thing. I lightened this up by using one slice of bread and skipping the ketchup - saving 100 calories. I could have saved more by skipping the sauce I made or making smaller chickpea cutlets. Its all about balance though, right? Mine on the left, Brian's on the right.

I also got some new fiber in the mail today from the Spunky Eclectic Fiber of the Month club.

4oz. of hand-painted targee wool in the colorway "Flannel". Love it!

Brian and I are going shopping for Halloween costume-making supplies tonight. I changed my mind again, but its going to be EPIC. I can't wait!