eat your brussels sprouts, mister.

why do brussels sprouts have such a bad rap? they're delicious! and we just figured this out. i also just realized that brussels sprouts is spelled like so... i'd always thought it was one word. i digress.

danny and i love veggies, but we find ourselves eating the same ones all. the. time. it feels like brussels sprouts are the trendy veggie of the moment (well, behind kale) so i picked some up and decided to give them a whirl.

how we made them:
- cleaned & cut in half
- tossed 'em in olive oil, salt & pepper
- roasted in the oven at 400° for 45-minutes
 - sprinkled with parmesan cheese

although both our moms say we did, neither of us recall eating them much growing up but we'll make up for it now. they were the perfect side to our beefless teriyaki burgers with grilled pineapple, mushrooms & avocado.

next veggie we're going to experiment with... eggplant. recipe suggestions welcome. the last time i ate much eggplant was in spain when it was breaded, fried & dipped in mayonnaise. i'm looking for something a little healthier this time around ;)

super simple & tasty vegetarian fajitas.

'tis the season to get back on track with healthy eating. no matter how hard you try, the holidays are just a lost cause when it comes to eating right. oh well. that's what the rest of the year is for, right? here's a healthy recipe that we weren't expecting much from, but we both really enjoyed. and the best part? this is stuff you'll probably have around the house and it's insanely simple and quick. plus, you can add any veggies you want.

vegetarian fajitas 

ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil 

1 small onion, quartered & sliced 

1 small red, green or yellow bell pepper, cut into strips 

2-3 cloves garlic, chopped 

1 can (15oz) black, pinto or kidney beans, rinsed & drained 

3/4 cup whole-kernel corn

1/2 cup bottled salsa

1/3 cup water 

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground oregano 

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 

reduced-fat flour tortillas, warmed

optional: fat free sour cream & low-fat cheese 

directions

heat oil in large, nonstick skillet over medium heat

add onion, bell pepper & garlic, cook/stir for 3-4 minutes or until veggies are tender

stir in beans, corn, salsa, water, cumin, salt and oregano; bring to a boil

reduce heat to low, cook/stir occasionally for 3-4 minutes 

remove from heat and stir in cilantro 

warm tortillas, spread sour cream, a little cheese & add fajitas mix 

hummus. the homemade way.

homemade garlic hummus

the tings love us some hummus. its a go-to snack around our home but we can polish off a little $5 tub of hummus in a couple days, so we decided to try it at home to save some money and cut out any unwanted ingredients. we're happy with the result! i wouldn't recommend trying it right out of the blender - let it chill for a while before you taste it. 

simply blend all ingredients 

3 tablespoons stirred tahini (we bought a jar of organic vegan at Sprouts for $8)

couple cloves of garlic, more or less depending on your love for garlic 

1 (19 oz) can of garbanzo beans drained, but save 1/2 cup of the liquid to include

3-4 tablespoons lemon juice 

1/2 teaspoon of salt 

2 tablespoons olive oil 

cumin to taste 

garnish & serve with a little olive oil, paprika, pine nuts, parsley flakes - anything you want.


after you get that recipe down, have fun with different flavor combinations.

we just made a jalepeno + cilantro batch and its delicious!
(added one medium-sized jalepeno (no seeds) and a handful of cilantro to the above recipe - sans garlic)

faux beef with real beef cakes.

we (especially my ting) are so excited that our dear dan has landed a new job that requires him to be in phoenix one week every month! it's like friendship heaven to have one of our favorites back in town on a regular basis.

the best part is that dan and danny's office buildings are across the street from each other, so it's uber convenient to get together. the boys "came home" from work last night and the three of us had faux beef taco salad. i was a little nervous considering it was our first time trying this vegan beef (we got this one from Trader Joes), but all three of us gave it two thumbs up. for the dressing, i mixed a spoonful of fat-free sour cream with this guilt-free dressing and stirred in some chili pepper, lemon & lime juice and cumin powder to taste. delicious. our splurge was mexican cotija white cheese. yum.

i find that taco salad is the perfect meal for a casual night with friends. first of all, its pretty & colorful, but more importantly as the host it's nice to chop and prepare everything in advance so you can spend your time socializing. plus, it's a guaranteed crowd pleaser since your guests get to create their own salads with the fixings of their choice.

{the boys having a blast looking through old college photos on dan's phone. wow.}

{hot damn! i mean, dan! dan's photo from the year he officially made the UA greek calendar! <insert whistle>}

danny does meat.

well, folks. he did it. ting dominated his 30-day vegetarian challenge. he took it very seriously - in fact, when one of my recipes called for chicken stock, he nicely told me that he wouldn't eat it if i used it. so off to the market i went for no-chicken, chicken stock (yes, it exists).

after 34 days without meat ting decided to have a burger. we went to Delux so he could splurge on one of his favorites paired with mixed fries and a beer. was it tasty? absolutely. but you know what? he felt terrible and had one of the worst night's sleep in a while, so he's back to being a veggie man. he's lost weight, feels great and is going to stick with it - kinda. he obviously loves meat, so if he wants to indulge in a burger or wings once a month or something he probably will, but for the most part he's gonna be living a meat-free life.

oh! and i just found out that ting inspired our friends jenny & matt who live in DC to do a 30-day veggie challenge. they're a week into it. i'm excited to start swapping veggie recipes.

i'm gonna get you meat.

danny's new diet.

I'll admit it. I had beef with Danny's new diet - pun fully intended.

A couple weeks ago Danny started talking about doing a 30 Day Vegetarian Challenge. We were in bed when he started talking about it and asked me to watch the videos. At that moment, something came over me and I got mad - like sleep in the guest room mad. I refused to watch and he said I was being close-minded.

My thoughts? I know the videos are going to be horrible and since I have no plans of giving up meat ever in my lifetime, I didn't feel the need to watch videos of animal cruelty. "The chickens can't even lift their wings because the cages are so small," says my husband. I snapped back something about not being able to take on all the problems in the world. That there's all kinds of bad crap that happens every day, but we don't sit and watch YouTube videos of it all because it would be way too much to bear.

The following days didn't get any better. Danny would sit on the couch and annoyingly "ooh and ahhh" over delicious vegetarian recipes as he prepared his "vegetarian shopping list." (Mind you, the kid won't get near a mushroom, broccoli (unless covered in cheese sauce), cauliflower, sometimes tomatoes, olives, etc.) Just do it with me, he kept saying. No, I kept replying.

A couple weeks ago I finally snapped. I don't really know why, but perhaps its because I was afraid that if this Veggie Challenge actually stuck we'd have to change our lifestyle. I know that sounds completely ridiculous, but we're food people. We love nothing more than long dinners and a lot of times they consist of things like wings, hamburgers, Hawaiian pizza, or prosciutto bruchetta. I mean, the kid is basically Mr. Hamburger Man. Everyone knows Danny lives for a burger and a beer.

Well, I came home from Las Vegas to a counter full of vegeterian fare... tofu, vegetables, granola, bok choy, all types of beans and a stack of meatless recipes my husband was pumped to try out.

So, I kept my mouth shut and let him cook away. We had tofu curry with vegetables and brown rice that first night and I have to admit it was really good and right up my alley.

For lunch the next day he had an egg white sandwich with grapes. We had Bocca Burgers another night and he snacked on granola and dried cranberries. Okay not so bad, but huh? Hello! Ting are you in there?

So, here we are. My burger & hot wings loving husband has turned into an animal rights activist backslash health nut. I have no idea if this is going to stick (I honestly hope not - or wait, do I? more wings for me?), but I am proud of him. He's seriously really excited about the challenge and I can tell he feels great. It's already been more than two weeks and I'm starting to realize that its not so bad. We can still eat all kinds of things like pizza, veggie & egg scrambles with potatoes (he made homemade hash browns that were delicious), bean & cheese burritos and tasty salads. 

            Oh, p.s. he's a Pesce-Vegetarian - the kind that eats fish. Thank goodness. We heart sushi!

stay tuned... if any vegetarians are reading this and have some great recipes, send them our way!