Week 2 of Engine 2: I think I'm getting the hang of this

Time to get real. I honestly thought I would have given up on this challenge by now. I mean, seriously, it just about goes against everything I ever talk about, and the new followers I have on instagram are all of the "healthy" variety. Ha! It's definitely not like I am anti-healthy or anything. I mean not really.

Maybe it's that I never was able to put that much focus on healthy eating because I was always focused on "yummy" vegan eats. Vegan eats are my main form of activism. I feed people delicious vegan food. And people see that vegan food is "normal" food with flavors they are familiar with. And then people say things like, "Oh my god, you can still eat this? Maybe I will go vegan!" (Well that's how I hope they respond, anyway.) So, cooking for health, and eating my medicine were never very high on my priority list.
And let's not even start on the fat-shaming SOS folks out there that almost seem to be in a weird purist-I'm-better-than-you-because-I-only-eat-the-cleanest-of-plant-based-foods cult that are constantly trolling my Amazon pages leaving one star reviews because my books contain soy, or wheat, or (God forbid) a little TVP!

But I digress…I shouldn't let the bad apples spoil the bunch, right? Right. And these past two weeks have been pretty eye opening for me. I am definitely seeing a difference already in my weight. I believe I mentioned this before, but I have gotten rid of the scale in my house as I refuse to be a slave to it any longer, but I definitely see a change in my face (I am losing some of those extra chins!) and my pants are a bit looser.

I also notice that I simply don't feel as hungry anymore. Because my meals are so nutrient dense, a bowl of "salad" has been enough to fill me up. My old pasttime was snacking on chips and dips all week at my desk while working. I don't really need to do that anymore. When I felt that need arise (mostly out of habit and not hunger) I bought a pack of Engine 2 Crispbreads and a tub of Engine 2 hummus to snack on. Admittedly, I ate 2 crackers, and I was over it. Not because it was bad, but because I was sated.

I am focusing on eating for my health, and believe it or not, I'm kind of starting to enjoy it, despite the fact that all of you instagrammers, facebook posters and pinterest folks are posting some of the most amazing food porn that is tempting my tastebuds on a regular basis!

I think I might stick to this way of eating (most of the time) even after the challenge is over. But don't worry, I won't forget the comfort foods I am known for. I will just eat them on special occasions. Not every friggin' day!

Green Salad (recipe below)
Green Salad
This "Green Salad" was my go to meal for the week. I made a giant batch so I could munch on it at work and at home. I think I actually got 5 seperate meals out of this. It has a gagillion components, but it was really easy to throw together. It tasted great cold or hot and filled me up with lots of micronutrients. Without total and exact measurements, here is the recipe.

For the Walnutty Spinach Basil Pesto:
(from Going Vegan, page 141, the oil free option, without added salt))
1 cup (30 g) tightly packed baby spinach
20 large basil leaves
1/2 cup (60 g) walnut pieces
2 tablespoons (15 g) nutritional yeast
2 cloves garlic (or more to taste)
1/2 cup (120 ml) low-sodium vegetable broth
1 teaspoon lemon juice (or more to taste)
1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard (or more to taste)
black pepper, to taste
and for this batch, I added 1 box of soft silken tofu as a thickener and to give it a creamier texture.

For the salad:
spinach leaves, chiffonade
kale, chopped
raw broccoli, chopped small
green peas
smoked tofu, diced
brown jasmine rice
Herb Roasted Potatoes, optional (from Going Vegan, page 117, without the added oil or salt)
raisins
sliced avocado
black pepper to taste

To make the pesto: Add all ingredients to a blender and preuu ntil smooth. Transfer dressing to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator until ready to use, should last about a week.

To make the salad: Add all ingredients except avocado to a large salad bowl and toss with desired amount of dressing. I like to add a small amount of dressing to the whole batch as it soaks into the greens, relaxing and softening them a bit. Then I add more dressing to taste when I eat it.

Yield: 5 to 6 entree sized meals, depending on how much you make

On the spot dinner made on the salad bar at Whole Foods Market.
But this is a challenge, and a few things have tripped me up a little bit:

• Monday night I worked a special event at the Anaeim Hilton at the Convention Center. I had to eat dinner in a food court, as there was no where to keep a premade lunch, other than in my car that was a 20 minute walk from the venue, so I made the best decisions I could given I was in a food court. I got a 6-inch veggie sub on whole wheat with no added sauces, oil, or dressing, with added avocado paired with a berry smoothie blended with OJ.
• Then, I had some major dental work done on Friday, leaving my mouth pretty useless for chewing anything harder than a smoothie, so I had to ditch the no juices rule for the day and enjoy some pineapple spinach juice and a giant pineapple smoothie bought for me by my bestie, Jen. Bless her heart!
• And on Saturday night, we went out with my sister and her husband to the Rainbow on the Sunset Strip. I knew going into it, there was going to be little to nothing on the menu for me to eat, so I was half expecting to get a giant bowl of iceberg lettuce with a sliced avocado and a handful of chickpeas thrown in for good measure. And that's exactly what I got. Ha.
• Finally, on Sunday I overslept and didn't have time to pack dinner to bring to work. So I made a big salad on the salad bat at Whole Foods Market, and bought a small bottle of the Health Starts Here Sesame Ginger Dressing that is low sodium and has no added oil. I split the meal into two portions and will have the rest for lunch today.

This coming week will be full of new recipes and foods, as I prepare some new batches of stuff for the weeek. See you then, and until then, stay Plant-Strong!