Days 11, 12, 13, 14...

Have I ever told you it is difficult for me to stay on track with anything I do? I always find something to distract myself with or decide to take an alternate path...I'm afraid it's the blessing and the curse of being Aquarius! But I would not take myself any other way.

So that leads me to my discussion about updating my blog. I have been absent for 4 days. Yeah, I know, I suck. The truth is it is rather boring for me to tell you what I ate, when I ate and how much I ate. All I know is I have been eating healthier than ever and am down 5 pounds in 2 weeks, which is really good for me considering I am not an exercise queen! Truth be told, I have not been strictly following PCRM's diet plan as many of the meals do not interest me and I am trying to use the ingredients I have on hand at the moment. You see, they published the latest batch of recipes the day after I went shopping...and I am not about to go back to the store for onesy-twosy items that are the main focus of a meal. Therefore, I create my own, which is fine since I love to cook and create my own unique dishes.

Alright, enough babble. While my food updates are not super extraordinary, I must publish them, so here goes...

Breakfast: All days (11, 12, 13, 14)
1 cup Cascadian Farms Hearty Morning cereal with Silk soy milk

This is the first time I have tried this cereal and I am so glad I did! It is super tasty and really good for you with something like 8g of fiber in a 3/4 cup serving which is CRAZY! I thought it would taste like twigs and branches and might need some fruit to kill the fiber taste, but I was mistaken...it was a pure delight and has now become my cereal of choice!

DAY 11
Lunch: Sweet Russian Cabbage Soup - you already got the recipe for this one from Day 9!

DAY 11
Snack - Edamame Beans - and lots of 'em!

DAY 11
Dinner - Seasoned Tofu & Veggie Marinara over kale with a whole grain & flax roll

For this meal, I used the leftover ingredients from the Vegetarian Swiss Steak meal the other day, cooked up some diced tofu and threw it all on top of some freshly steamed kale (seasoned with rice vinegar of course). I added a whole grain roll from Alexia which was super hearty and full of healthy goodness!

DAY 12
I made a luscious Fruity Seitan Salad for lunch and would go on to eat it a couple more times over the next couple days. Here is the recipe, and don't forget all "measurements" are estimates since I don't like the metric system:

Fruity Seitan Salad

Ingredients

whole wheat rotini or similar pasta
Seitan (I used 1/2 pouch of Westbrae seitan)
10 oz. pineapple chunks, drained and diced, save pineapple juice
15 oz. sliced peaches, drained and diced
2 tablespoons raisins
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. reduced sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp. curry powder
2 tbsp. orange juice
optional - chopped pecans

Cook pasta according to package directions; rinse with cold water and drain. I did not use a lot of pasta in this dish, so gauge your noodle content once you have prepared all other ingredients. In a small pan, add seitan to 2 tbsp. soy sauce. Once the liquid is absorbed, add 2 tbsp. orange juice and 1/2 tbsp. curry powder. Heat and stir until seitan has absorbed juice and curry powder. This only takes a couple of minutes. Drain pineapple and peaches, dice and place in a large bowl.

Add pasta, seitan and raisins to the fruit mixture. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1 tbsp. curry powder and 1/2 cup pineapple juice. Pour over pasta mixture; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. Optional: stir in pecans just before serving.

DAY 12
Dinner: Seitan and Sun-Dried Tomato Cilantro "Mayo" with My Fresh 'n Sweet Salsa-Topped Kale

I had a couple chunks of seitan left over after making the Fruity Seitan Salad so I decided to make a meal out of it. I simply warmed the seitan and served it with steamed kale and topped it with the salsa I made the other day. On the side, is a dollop of my Sun-Dried Tomato Cilantro "Mayo" for seitan dipping. I know this is a mish-mash of food, but it was all really good together and I need to use what has already been made before it goes bad, right?!

DAY 13
Lunch: Leftovers - Fruity Seitan Salad

DAY 13
Dinner: OMG I don't remember...something healthy though :)

DAY 13
Snack: Flackers and "Sheryl's Own" Duck Sauce

I found these phenomenal "crackers" on my most recent trip to Whole Foods. These Flackers are rather pricey but WOW! there is nothing like 'em! Check out the specs on these bad boys...they are so good for you. Worth every penny! Bye-bye crackers! And because I made so much "duck sauce", which is actually more like an apricot chutney because of the thick consistency, I dipped my Flackers in it for a sweet and savory little snack. 100% goodness, my friends!

DAY 14
Lunch: Edamame Beans - was not too hungry

DAY 14
Dinner: Creamy Broccoli Soup and Puree of Roasted Garlic and White Vegetables

This is the same broccoli soup I ate in Week 1; had some left in the freezer. I also had a bowl of the yummy Puree of Roasted Garlic and White Vegetables again, and I have to say it is such a refreshing alternative from mashed potatoes. This dish has the most interesting flavor that I cannot put into words. You just need to try it sometime. Who would have thought parsnips and turnips could taste so good? Certainly not me, but I am glad I gave them a shot and am excited to try them in even more dishes someday!

DAY 14
Snack: Green Goodie Smoothie

This hearty smoothie was designed for a breakfast meal but I used it as a snack on this day because I needed something sweet. Since I did not have pineapple juice on hand I substituted it with cranberry-pomegranate, and also used ProGreens powder in place of spirulina since I obviously do not keep spirulina in stock! I made a huge batch - enough for three snacks or breakfast meals. Seriously, who wants to keep dragging the blender out every day, in addition to all those ingredients? It's all about saving time and resources. And while I do not currently have a job, it does not mean I want to spend all day in the kitchen, that's for sure!

I believe I have finally caught up...phew! Hopefully I will be more diligent over the next few days and update this thing in a timely fashion. Of course, that could be a lot to hope for...don't hold your breath, people! Anyway, cheers to you and yours and I hope you have enjoyed my blog so far. PCRM would probably be mad at me for not following their "diet" day-by-day but I have never been able to follow directions...you know, it's that "march to the beat of your own drum" thing for me...slainte! :)