A Varied Diet

Would a nutritionist consider this a varied diet? (And no, this was not all eaten in one day!)

Quesadillas

Stirfry

Bagels

Egg Drop Soup

Chili

Split Pea Soup

Tofu Sandwiches (Fried tofu, with soy sauce, italian seasonings, and ketchup)

Bean and Rice Burritos

Spanish Rice

Hummus and tortillas

Nachos

Pizza

Grilled Cheese

Pupusas (Tortillas stuffed with queso fresco)

Spaghetti

Scrambled Eggs

Chex Mix

Muffins

Hotdish

Mix in a healthy dose of fresh fruits and vegetables, an occasional smoothie, and life is good!

Success!

Today I:
1) Made a big pot of vegetarian chili---this will be lunch for the next week.
2) Finally e-mailed off a photo I took for a friend so long ago in Guatemala.
3) Cleaned out my fridge and located some tempeh I need to use up before it expires.
4) Found books to take to the local thrift shop.
5) Bought salsa and whole wheat flour in bulk (before I run out of food stamps at the end of the month).

All in all, it was a pretty successful day.

Favorite Meals

Admittedly, I enjoy some strange food combinations. But who doesn't like the salty goodness of Teriyaki Garbanzo Beans, even when it is mixed with Garlic Mashed Potatoes? Who doesn't occasionally crave Italian "Sausage" as a lovely complement to Guiltless Gourmet Spicy Black Bean Chips with Guacamole and Follow Your Heart Cheddar Cheese? And can I help it if a Tofu Guacamole Sandwich floats my boat?

I dare say that no one (meat eater or not) can resist my Spaghetti with Green Pepper, Green Olive, Garlic, Onion, and Soy Crumble Sauce. Trust me, it is much more appetizing than it sounds.

My more traditional combinations are also heavenly. Take the Follow Your Heart Cheddar Cheese Quesadillas with Southwestern Style Salsa: simply scrumptious! A good side of Teriyaki Tofu makes this a meal to devour.

If that doesn't suit your appetite, how about a Tofu Stirfry, with plenty of green chile and green peppers? Or a little Curried Tempeh on a Whole Wheat Bun?

For those in a rush, there's always the classic "Hamburger" Hotdish, or a nice Black Bean Burger.

The Vegan's Grocery Budget

While there are many challenges associated with being a vegan (just what can you get at McDonald's besides an iceberg lettuce salad?), budget grocery shopping is not one of them. Sure, tofu can add up, and if you insist on buying dozens of Boca Burgers each week, your budget may suffer. Yet compared to the cost of eating meat and buying cheese, vegan shopping is cheap.

I distinctly remember a $15 a week grocery budget in college. If I had to buy even a pound of meat with that, it wouldn't have gone very far. Yet I was able to buy several pounds of tofu from the local Oriental food store (at a dollar a pound), a 5-pound bag of whole wheat flour ($2.79), a couple of pounds of fruits and vegetables (anything that was under a dollar a pound), and plenty of noodles, spaghetti sauce, TVP, dried beans, split peas, and lentils. It definitely wasn't very fancy, but it was healthy and inexpensive.

Boca Burgers and vegan cheeses were splurges; while they were definitely less time-consuming to prepare, I had a lot of time and not much money. A couple of times a year a relative would take pity on my poor grocery budget and give me $20 to spend on vegan chocolate and Follow Your Heart vegan cheese. Needless to say, after several months of TVP and nutritional yeast based "cheeses," I was very thankful.

I spend a little more each week now for food; I now eat a lot more fresh fruits and vegetables, and fewer canned ones. I have access to a discount grocery store, which is heavenly! I can get my splurge foods for just a fraction of the cost. This would have made a huge difference when I was in college, but I definitely got by all right on what I had.

Vegan grocery shopping, when done right, is probably one of the cheapest ways to shop. If you view prepared, packaged foods (such as Morningstar or Boca Burgers) as a splurge rather than an everyday food, you will spend just a fraction of the cost of what you would on meat and cheese. However, it really comes down to making the bulk of what you eat at home, from the raw ingredients. Vegan packaged food is expensive! Eating well on a vegan diet is not.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Pickles

I am still such a college student. I crave simple meals (and some strange ingredient combinations). I love Garlic Mashed Potatoes and pickles. A simple tofu stirfry with plenty of vegetables (usually frozen, from the Farmer's Market in the summer) is a perfect dish. I usually make up a bunch of brown rice ahead of time and freeze it for a quick complement to the meal. I also like fifteen minute meals: Curried tempeh, Teriyaki Tofu, and Tofu Guacamole Sandwiches fall into this category. On the weekends, I might make a "Hamburger" Hotdish, or Teriyaki Garbanzo Beans.

If I can find Teriyaki Chex Mix at the discount grocery store, I am a happy camper! I am absolutely in love with the discount grocery store. I can find 75 cent tofu, $1.99 Soy Dream Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream, and $2.49 "Chicken" tacos. It is a paradise for the budget shopper!

Strange To Do List

I have a strange To Do List. To start with, it involves applying to be a nanny in Washington, D.C., and an English teacher in a primary school in China. It then lists "Wash cloth wipes"---yes, the bathroom kind. It ends with a plea to pick up everything bagels and vegetarian "Italian Sausage."


It's still better than tomorrow's To Do List. I need to inventory books for RIF and Dibels five kindergarteners. Who thinks up these acronyms?

What's the strangest item on your To Do List?