First 3 Days, First Big Food Post

Ok...
I said I would have this post up last night, but I spent a bit of time at my parents' house gathering some gear for my camping trip this weekend, so by the time I got home, all I wanted to do was sleep, and you all deserve much more than a groggy, half-hearted attempt at my writing efforts (not that the wide awake, high energy posts are much better). But I digress...

So, I've made it through my first three full days of the experiment, and so far, things are going great! I've been putting my produce to good (and delicious) use and I've even come up with a few interesting creations along the way. For breakfasts this week I've been doing fresh fruits and smoothies I've made at home, sometimes with the addition of some almond or hazelnut butter. For lunch I've been having veggies and some dinner leftovers. Dinners are where I've been letting the creativity flow as you'll see below...

On Monday I made what I'm calling eggplant sliders (without the bun obviously). I guess if I wanted to be really fancy shmancy I could call it something like a "savory eggplant napoleon"...but let's be real... They were simply some seasoned slices of eggplant that I sauteed on each side in a little bit of olive oil, just until they softened a bit. Then on each one I piled on some spinach, tomato, some garlic sauteed mushrooms, some fresh jalapeño, and a few drops of sriracha (I like my spice!). To accompany it I made some simple baked sweet potato fries, some sauteed broccoli and red peppers, and some of my fresh guacamole. Everything tasted great, and even my family was somewhat surprised that I was able to eat some many different things after their initial skepticism over my plans for the experiment (I decided to help mom out and just gave her a list of the things I can and can't eat).

Sweet potato fries, eggplant sliders, and sauteed broccoli with peppers (click for larger photo)

Since the first night's cooking adventures had gone so well, I decided I'd be brave and try something new. I found a recipe online on another culinary blog, Foodie McBooty (gotta admit, I'm incredibly jealous of that name) for...are you ready?...a vegan and paleo friendly pizza. I'm just going to assume that your jaw is smacking the floor now like mine was. The recipe, which can be found here, actually uses cauliflower as the primary ingredient in the crust! Combine that with some almond flour and a couple of other ingredients I'll discuss in a moment, and you have a surprisingly tasty crust substitute on top of which you can pile your favorite sauce and veggies. The only thing I'd probably do different from the recipe next time has to do with the amount of time in the oven. I'd probably blind bake it (that is, bake it by itself before toppings) a bit longer, perhaps even under the broiler for a few minutes just to get it to set up a little firmer/crispier.

Now, as for those two ingredients I mentioned earlier, my eyes have been opened to a wondrous secret...actually it's not a secret at all to long-time vegans. That is the wonder of ground flax seed and nutritional yeast. A tablespoon of ground flax, when combined with 3 tablespoons of hot or boiling water, whisked well, and allowed to sit in the fridge for about 15 minutes, makes the PERFECT substitute for eggs in many recipes. The consistency is spot on. Also, nutritional yeast gives a great savory flavor to just about anything you could think to put it on.

I used Bragg nutritional yeast, but there are several brands out there.

My cauliflower crust pizza!

Apparently I was still in an Italian mood on Wednesday night, because I came up with my own variation on eggplant parmesan. I took some sliced eggplant, dredged it in some of the same type of flax egg mixture I'd used in the pizza crust, then breaded it in some almond flour seasoned with sea salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I then browned both sides of the slices in some olive oil, then set them aside. In a large baking dish I put down a layer of pasta sauce (tomato, basil, and garlic flavor I believe it was), then my eggplant slices. Then I topped them with red onion, scallions, jalapeño, zucchini, tomato, and mushrooms, followed by another layer of sauce, and finally a healthy sprinkling of nutritional yeast over the top to replicate the parmesan. This all went in the oven to bake. Also in the oven were some chunks of sweet potato, carrots, and mushrooms that I was roasting. Once everything was done in the oven, I also threw together a big spinach salad with tons of veggies, some almonds, and some sunflower seeds, then dressed it with a balsamic vinaigrette that I made myself and tossed on some sliced strawberries. I ate to the point of being miserably full...yet I didn't have to feel guilty about ANYTHING that I'd eaten, and I have plenty of eggplant leftover for at least 2 more meals. Double win!

Eggplant parm before baking, on the plate with my roasted roots, and my strawberry spinach salad (click for larger photo)

At some point I'll try to create a post with actual "recipes" for you all to try at home.

Hope you've enjoyed reading about and looking at these creations as much as I enjoyed eating them (if that's even possible). I'm going to try to post again this weekend with some pictures of my camping trip, the foods we bring along, and the results of possibly my first restaurant visit of the experiment! Until then...

Much love to all of you,

Jon