Well, the polenta was a hit last night- with me, bf, his 4yo daughter and the dog lol. I had never made it before. Bf did not beg for meat, but he had some at lunch. I made a spice mixture with sage & marjoram, etc and sprinkled it on before grilling with some EVOO.
So this is day 3 for me. I don't think I will be militantly veg, but I am going to try for 75% vegan, 20% vegetarian, but not be restrictive when visiting friends, etc. I think lol. But for now, I will just get through this week.
Tonight I think I will try to make falafel (something else I have never attempted!) with roasted potatoes and veggies... But maybe not, because I am working so might be too tired to experiment!
Tonight for dinner I mixed up some brown rice, cream of mushroom soup, red onions, baby spinach, and Morningstar Italian sausage. Rice + soup has been one of my favourite meals as of late, because it's so easy to make and the rice adds extra bulk that you don't get from plain soup.
Good luck with the falafel, I always have issues making those haha. I keep making the batter too runny and then it's hard to work with, unfortunately.
My boyfriend always tells me "I have nothing against vegetarian meals, I like them", then he is usually looking around a bit for the meat when it is time to actually eat them. But, that is habit. He has only had meals centered on meat his entire life. It is the equivalent of me having a dinner without veggies. I feel like something is missing.
I think shooting for being vegan most of the time is already doing wonders for your health (cutting back cholesterol intake, increasing fiber) and for the environment. And one of the smartest vegans, the philosopher Peter Singer, talks about the importance of not wasting meat and of not being militant. He thinks it is the vegan militantism that has scared off many from the lifestyle. He also thinks, if the meat is there and it will just get thrown away if you don't eat it, then it makes more sense to eat it. So, I would let all your friends know about the changes you are making, and then they usually accommodate your preferences.
I'm pretty boring with dinners, mainly because I live alone and am so tired at the end of the day that I don't have energy to be creative . I make a salad with beans and lemon juice/balsamic vinegar for a dressing. Then I make some potatoes (either red skin or sweet potatoes) in the microwave and mash them up with a little soy milk and mustard. I find that I'm loving mashed potatoes in the evening, especially since it's winter now, as they are "comfort food" for me and do a lot to curb the night snacking.
Mashed potatoes are the best! I have to be careful though, I can easily overdo it with all things starchy.
The last two dinners here have been Lebanese pilaf (found the recipe in VegNews, someone re-posted online here), and spicy tomato peanut and kale pasta (recipe from La Dolce Vegan by Sarah Kramer, love that book!).
Not sure about tonight. Just cooked up a crock pot of black beans, so it might be rice and beans and greens so we can finish off that bunch of kale.
My dinner tonight isn't too exciting, just veggie stew. I made it last night with indian spices (turmeric, cumin etc. plus some smoked paprika). I did use a new veggie in it, which doesn't happen very often. The store had chayote squash on sale so I gave it a try. It's delicious in stew but I didn't know that you should peel it first! The peel shards are little leathery land mines floating in my stew now.
Dinner
. I make a salad with beans and lemon juice/balsamic vinegar for a dressing. Then I make some potatoes (either red skin or sweet potatoes) in the microwave and mash them up with a little soy milk and mustard. I find that I'm loving mashed potatoes in the evening, especially since it's winter now, as they are "comfort food" for me and do a lot to curb the night snacking.
