For this recipe, I was in the midst of dealing with company (not my doing) and deciding my dinner with other tummies in mind. With a fresh garden at my fingertips and a stock of pasta and tomato sauce, I decided to have at it. And so did everyone else…
No meat doesn't mean boring. Let's brighten this plate.
Ingredients
1/2 a box of Veggie Pasta
1/2 a box of Whole Wheat Pasta
1 Onion
2-3 fresh tomatoes
1-2 Fresh Basil Leaves
1-2 Fresh Rosemary Sprigs
1 can of Tomato Sauce (I love Heinz!)
Minced Garlic (2 cloves)
Oregano
1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
Meatless Features: Olives and Mushrooms (Shiitake or Portobella)
Directions
Prepare your ingredients – Dice your tomatoes and olives, mince your basil and onion, and chop your oregano, garlic and mushrooms. Prepare your sprigs of rosemary, and oregano and set them aside. Separate each into various bowls or holding spaces. Like a cutting board or a clean counter.
Boil fresh water in a large pot, add a pinch of salt.
Prepare a large pan – Add vegetable oil
Heat the pan – Add your garlic and onions and let them cook for a minute or two.
Add your sauce – Stir in all of your veggies and herbs. At low heat, simmer for at least 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Cook pasta in the boiled water. Most pasta is finished between 8 to 10 minutes. The longer boiled, results a softer noodle.
Drain, and toss pasta with olive oil
Check that sauce! Can you smell it yet? Prepare to add it to your pasta.
Throw it all together! – Toss pasta and sauce into a large dish.
And that’s it! If you’re not vegan, add some of your favorite cheese to add to the top of any plate. Happy Nomming!
In this edition, I highlight how slight hunger and ingredients around the house, can make way for a simple, yet affordable meal.
Jasmine Rice & Pigeon Peas
servings = 1-2, time = 15-20 minutes, difficulty = easy
A light, savory and simple Asian inspired dish, perfect for lunch or supper.
Meatless feature: Pigeon Peas
By User:C.L. Ramjohn (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.htm)
Ingredients:
1 Can of Pigeon Peas 1 cup of Jasmine Rice or the microwaveable version 1 tbs of chopped green onions (scallions) less than 1 tsp of minced hot pepper or a similar powdered variant less than 1 tsp. Minced ginger 1 tbs of vegetable oil
Choose your rice:
If you are cooking from scratch, you must boil the water first THEN add the rice. The more water, the softer the rice and vice versa. Add any butter or salt for additional taste! Follow the bag’s cooking instructions, but most rice generally cooks between 15 to 25 minutes.
Add everything together:
1. Heat a pan with your vegetable oil 2. Add the minced veggies and spices 3. Add your rice and let it warm up for a minute or two 4. Add your peas (a balanced ratio between rice and peas) 5. Stir the ingredients together
Additional tips: Add a teaspoon of sesame oil and soy sauce during the final mixing for a more authentic taste!
Let’s face it: acne sucks. That wasn’t just an attempt at a cliche, but my honest feelings.
Ever since I was a teenager, I was a sufferer of acne. Still am. Adult acne is very real and unless you have the insurance of a goddess, sometimes it’s not always easy to keep it at bay.
Overall, adult acne is usually due to an influx of hormones that can be inflamed by stress, chemical make-up or simply your diet. There are a variety of sources that tout different ways to ‘cure’ it or manage it.
Personally, I’ve seen quite a few dermatologists (which you’ll need to do during your meatless journey, trust me and to determine your remedies) and used nearly every acne system on the market…It was frustrating and expensive.
If I ever thought my skin was finally clearing up, that one HORRIBLE breakout ruined my esteem or any progress I felt I had made. In my opinion, why was I paying to have everything ‘clear it out’ and then start over until I ran out of said supply? I still had to go out in public after all.
Out of the things that were prescribed to me,Retin-Aand Acanya gelwere a nice combo. However I was still dealing with breakouts from time to time.
I’ll list a few of the methods that helped during the Rx and after it ran out that seemed to keep my breakouts to a minimum.
Witch Hazel – I always used this in high school, but I started back using it less than a year ago and ‘adding’ it with my current toner. Anything alcohol-free is vitally important as inadvertently causing more oil or sebum to produce could produce more break outs. I use it as soon as I get out the shower in my problem areas on my body or face and let it dry.
Black Soap – Another product I was experimenting with when I got financial freedom. This is touted as the ‘end all be all’ to any sort of skin issue, but personally it depends on what and whom you’re buying it from. Be careful ordering batches of these, as you want something that can’t be misidentified as a small child or bits of glass due to a lack of proper processing/filtering. Made from palm ash, tamarind extract, tar and plantain peel and other natural sources that give it a dark brown or light brown color. The ‘dirtier’ and less uniform it looks, the more authentic the soap. I used this at night and washed it off with cold water. Don’t get this in your eyes, I repeat: DON’T GET THIS IN YOUR EYES!
Water – How many times can this be repeated? The times where my skin looked the most flawless was when I “kept drinking like a fish,” as my college roommate called it.
Apple Cider Vinegar & Green Tea – I always loved tea, and green or black tea was how I chose to wake up in the mornings. After mixing the ACV with hot water and honey and not tasting very good, I decided to just throw a tablespoon into my green tea. Best idea ever. I get the nutrients of both and the health benefits cited from the ACV. Apple cider vinegar with the ‘mother’ is said to be the homeopathic ‘thing’ that can help with anything.Again, that’s all hearsay unless medically proven, but it does help with my energy, and the more that I’ve consumed, the more of a glow my skin seems to have. I can’t explain it quite simply but it’s doing something and I like it. Just don’t drink this by itself – tooth erosion is real.
Colorful foods – as mentioned inmy previous post, the more color in your diet, the better your diet. The better your diet?
Hopefully these are some things (other than sleep when you finally graduate) that can help ease your journey when making a drastic change that will affect your internal and external appearance.
I want to start off by writing, just because you’ve decided to stop devouring meat, your kitchen doesn’t (or shouldn’t) have to look like:
Don’t ransack before you’ve thought carefully. Or let anyone do this. Ever.
As we continue down this revelation, you may begin to encounter this conversation flow, once the news of your betrayal for barnyard friends as food, is revealed:
“So are you all set up to go to the luncheon? I hear the food is going to be really good!”
“I bet it will! All that money ready to stretch their bands in expectation? Of course the food will be good! What’s the menu again?”
“I heard it’s some kind of pasta-“
“OOh! Pasta! Okay and what else?”
“Yeah pasta, some Cesar salad and glazed chicken.“
“Chicken?“
…
Taken by Ivan Lanin on Flickr – http://tinyurl.com/hukvu8d
You see the small child to the right of the photo? Yeah that’s me in this sort of moment. I’m upset, disappointed and annoyed.
What about ME?! US?! I beg of you, please don’t ever turn down an opportunity to eat anything. Let’s hope the hypothetical dream killer allows a choice to be made before throwing the fork out of your tiny hands, and throwing that lovely general store napkin on the floor?
Once you begin to get used to your new lifestyle, it will be easier to do any of the following; obsessing or ditching. You’ll either get obsessed with the new fad for the conscious eater in various organic groceries, or the same meal 24/7. On the positive, you may also find it easier to be more resistant to reject certain items in your diet like kale just because it tastes funny (no really, I’ve tried).
Then get to the doe-eyed sulk and start rubbing your eyes and stomach to prepare.
Cooking is a skill you need to acquire through watching said family member, or a stranger. There are many alternatives such as soy, eggs, fish/seafood, various beans and vegetables, and quinoa (yes that’s a word) to be the base for your delusions. Actually knowing what to do with any of the stuff, is the next step, and something I, and every meatless had to learn for themselves. Either when the units were away. Or when you’re on a campus that does not have very great vending options.
When I got to college, and I didn’t have a personal anything just yet, I had to get creative with the options in our cafeteria.
They had salad, pasta, sandwich (grill or deli style), soup, pizza, fries, and the main course.
Plenty is good for your body, but not for any cigar rasps. You should quit.
I got into salads, spinach especially, because you need it, and it is life. Omelettes whenever they were available, and maybe a tuna-sandwich or egg, if the omelette wasn’t an option. Then you eat as much as you want, and drink as much of the ‘good stuff’ as you want (pure juice, milk, or even better, H2O). What can I say, you’ll be hungry at this point.
It was the eating-in-the-dorm room part, that proved a bit difficult. What if I was still hungry or missed the time for immediate bloating? This is when you begin to get resourceful at the market. You see those bunches of soup cans, minute rice pouches, or potatoes, and oh my goodness fresh vegetables?! Grab them and use them! Use all the coupons, if you don’t want to worry about greedy grubbers stealing your fresh stuff, grab a fridge or get to nonperishable as a start.
Don’t forget some creativity! You don’t have to eat the same thing every single day. Colors are great on your plate, and so is anything under 30 minutes.
I’ll write about the quick ways in the next post so hang in there and get to mooching learning.
Start with these posts from The Veggie Table a giant encyclopedia of life and various recipes.
![By User:C.L. Ramjohn (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Pigeon_peas.jpg)
