Wicked Good Living : What I've Been Eating: Part III

What you eat is completely up to you. I’m just sharing some ideas for plant-based eating.

I'm all about simplicity in the kitchen. I like preparing food to be as easy as possible. I've gone through breakfast and lunch, so now it's time for dinner.

Dinner

1. Lentil Soup

Lentils are super healthy and I made this recently for the first time. Here's the recipe link. All done in the crockpot easily. You barely have to touch it. Great recipe to take advantage of the frozen vegetable aisle. I'll give Amanda credit for spicing it. She loves to spice things up.

2. Vegetable Curry

I've been making this slow cooker special for years. I used to use chicken thighs. Now, I use beans and I love it even more. Here is the link for the recipe.

3. Tofu Vegetable Crockpot General Tso's

Amanda declared this her new favorite meal. She spotted a jar of General Tso's simmer sauce at BJ's when we went to stock up on cat food. This was an exciting new dish to try. Homemade Chinese food that's healthy! Amanda also changed her opinion on tofu after this meal. She cooked it so well that now she loves tofu. Link for the recipe.

4. Pasta and Meatballs

We live in Leominster and one of the places we discovered shortly after moving here is Pastaland. Craft made pasta in the Old World Tradition. Regularly, we'll pick up potato gnocchis or sweet potato/pumpkin raviolis. It's just a little shop with a counter only where you pick up frozen pasta. Pasta night wouldn't be complete without meatballs though. The Gardein meatless meatballs are better than regular meatballs. A real win for plant-based eating. Of course you want bread too, so this is where I'll recognize Amanda's latest culinary success - baking sourdough bread. There are many benefits to sourdough bread. It is healthier and easier to digest than most breads, so it can be an option for people with gluten tolerance issues. The reason I love it is because it causes lower blood sugar and insulin level spikes than most breads, and it's delicious. Recipe link. Making sourdough bread is a process, but it’s worth it. You'll get the get best results in a Dutch oven. Amanda became an expert in about 3 weeks. Sourdough starter can last you forever, we have a few starters in the refrigerator that will probably last us for the rest of our lives.

5. Grilling

People love cooking on the grill in warm weather. There are healthy, plant-based options for grilling. I have eaten a lot of meat cooked on the grill. With my health and longevity in mind, now grilling looks very different. The main thing is burgers. Morningstar and Gardein make excellent black bean burgers. Morningstar also makes a tomato-basil burger, which is good. That's all I've tried. I've tried the Beyond Meat hot Italian sausage with pasta, but not on the grill. They're good. Another option for burger-type foods is portobello mushrooms. Amanda marinates them in garlic, olive oil, balsamic, and soy sauce then grills them up. Kebabs with onions and peppers is also a healthy choice. We might have scallops once in a while with the kebabs.

6. Pizza

I eat pizza a couple of times a month, but I don't eat it as frequently as I did, and I've made changes. I've tried to cut out cheese, and I have mostly. I used to eat cheese just about every day in some form. Instead of getting an extra cheese pizza, now I order a Margherita pizza. So, it's far less cheese. My two favorite places are Volturno in Worcester and Bertucci's. Last time we went to Bertucci's it was Two for Tuesday, so we got a free one to take home. Pizza for days.

Update: Now I don't order cheese. I order Margherita either plain or mushrooms on my half.

Volturno

7. Chipotle

I had Chipotle for the first time last October shortly after one opened right down the street. We probably have it about once a week now. It's easy to order and, dare I say, healthy? But I guess that depends on what you order. I get a burrito with sofritas (plant-based protein option), rice, beans (I switch up the options), green tomatillo salsa sauce, fajitas veggies, and guacamole sometimes. No meat, no cheese. Amanda gets a burrito bowl with pretty similar things.

8. Chili

Another crock pot special. Great for cold weather. Here's my 3-bean recipe