Did I just hallucinate a cow?

No, but talk to me mid-March and I might be. Yes, that’s right, this year for lent, I’m going vegan. Ohhh baby.

As you all may or may not know, I don’t really have an ounce of religion in me, but I do find Lent to be a very fascinating ritual and think it’s fun to participate in. In year’s past, I’ve given up sweets, ice cream and one year I did cheese. That was the worst of them all. I did not grow up in a religious household, but (hold your breath, hear comes the blasphemy!), I think church and worship are a bit of a silly ritual with that old preacher man up there telling you what’s right and wrong. I think there probably is a higher power, but I am pretty sure me and that being can figure out what’s right/wrong, good/bad all on our own without someone telling me how to do it. So basically, if you haven’t figured it out yet, my problem with religious things is that I just don’t like people telling me what to do. That and I’m not a very good singer. And on Sunday morning, I wanna be at brunch having a mimosa. That’s just me though.

As for my decision to be a vegan this year, I think the vegan lifestyle is wildly over-hyped and I want to know if people do it to lose weight or if it really makes your body feel oh so wonderful. Am I going to have more energy than I’ve ever had in my life or am I going to be cranky and hungry as hell? I already ate a mostly vegetarian diet before I started my veganism today. When I do eat meat, it’s usually fish. Otherwise, the majority of my meals are vegetarian.

Things I’m worried about:

I can’t eat CHEESE or EGGS aka my two favorite foods! I will be lost without them.

Accidental slip ups. Because I’m not one of those psycho people worried about whether there’s butter in the food I’m eating and whether that butter came from a cow, I am prone to accidental slip ups, where I think something is vegan, but it’s not. I went grocery shopping last night and had to read the ingredients of every product I bought a couple times to make sure I was getting it right.

I’m gonna be hungry. Though being vegan isn’t a huge departure from my normal diet, I really depended on things like greek yogurt and eggs for protein to keep me full. I’m not sure how life will work without them, but I’ll figure it out.

Things I’m excited about:

This supposedly “amazing transformation” that’s bound to come any day now (haven’t even been vegan for 24 hours) where I just start glowing and get great skin and constant energy and blah blah blah. Wouldn’t mind if my pant size dropped either! (Hey, no one ever said I wasn’t shallow!)

Creativity in the Kitchen. The first couple of weeks, I’m sure I’ll be content with my old bean, vegetables, and grain medley for dinner and salad with some sort of vegan burger for lunch, but by mid-March, I’m gonna need to branch out. I’m gonna need to lurk on vegan, food blogs and learn how to make some creative foods that  I will mostly likely thoroughly enjoy and add to my regular rotation once this is all said and done.

I’ll try to keep you guys updated over the next 40 days. Depending on my mood, you could be in for quite the comedic treat.

SKs,

Bri

 

 

Tags: lent, religion, vegan

Sunday Soups

Oh hey! Remember when I tweeted about this a while back??!!

Turkey, Navy Bean and Kale Soup

When I wake up on the weekend and it’s cloudy outside, only one two things come to mind: I’m never getting out of this bed and later when I do decide to get out of bed, I’m making soup. For the past year or so, I’ve had the idea of a turkey, bean and kale soup in my head. I searched online for recipes and they always seemed to have bean and kale, turkey and kale, or kale and bean, but never all 3 together unless it was turkey sausage or something (gross). So, I finally decided to take matters into my own hands and make my own recipe. The last time I did this, it didn’t work out so well and I think it’s because I tried to do a Bethenny Frankel “use what you have” soup. I didn’t have chicken broth (a major ingredient) so I used water. Ya, I know. Epic disaster. But this recipe is way better and super delicious because I thought it through and stuff.

So without further ado, Turkey, Navy Bean, and Kale Soup!

Ingredients:

1 medium onion

2 garlic cloves

1 medium bunch of kale chopped/shredded/however you break kale into smaller pieces

1 of those cartons of chicken broth low sodium

1 can of navy beans

2 celery stalks chopped

3/4 to 1lb. of ground turkey or roasted turkey chopped into small pieces

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup chopped basil

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/2 to 3/4 cup of shredded carrots

A pinch of crushed red pepper if you like spicy

Directions:

1. Chop your onion and garlic and sauté them together in a pot with some olive oil. Once they caramelize, add the turkey.

2. Break up the turkey and cook most of the way through if it’s raw, ground turkey. If it’s roasted turkey, then it’s already cooked so just throw it in there.

3. Once your turkey is cooked add all the rest of the ingredients, stir and let simmer on medium for about 30 minutes.

4. After 30 minutes, do a taste test. If you want it spicier add that crushed red pepper or if you are a salt freak like me, you’ll add some more salt (preferably with a heavy hand if you are me!).

5. If you adjusted the seasoning, let it cook on medium for another 10 or 15 minutes.

6. After cooking about 45 minutes to an hour, it should be finished.

Nomnomnomnomnom

This soup is very warming and comforting in the winter time. And if you are on a diet, it’s low in calories, fully of veggies and quite filling. If you aren’t doing a low carb diet, I highly suggest serving this soup with some warm bread on the side, preferably smothered in melted cheese like this:

Toasted Multigrain bread with Cheddar Cheese on the Side!

Oh yayayayayaya. I loved this soup! And I’m so happy I finally have a successful recipe for turkey, bean and kale soup!

Ok that’s all. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and have a wonderful Valentine’s Day on Tuesday!!!

-Bri

p.s. Never forget how delicious sweet potatoes are. Last week I had half of one for dinner and served it like this:

Gourmet Sweet Potato Dinner

That is a sweet potato topped with steamed kale, goat cheese, cranberries, and sliced almonds with salt and pepper. So good and a very filling vegetarian meal for dinner. Next time you want a loaded baked potato, I highly suggest you sub in the potato’s sexier cousin, the sweet potato. Can’t beat the sweet and salty combo. Ok time to stop ignoring my brief I’m working on. Goodbye for real!

Tags: soup, weekend, winter meals