A sandwich is a sandwich is a sandwich.

Don't underestimate the power of a well made sandwich. On nights where making dinner seems leaps and bounds beyond the limitations of my energy, I have found that a sandwich is an easy and fulfilling alternative to a traditional "dinner". It doesn't require side dishes (although a few chips can really round the meal off) and doesn't require much time.

I have full faith that the few of you that will read this are more than able to make yourself a tasty sandwich.

My only suggestion, or reminder, would be this: Grill that sucker. Subway has the right idea.

"Toasted?"

"Yes, please!!"

***

The sandwich above is on grilled sourdough bread. It contains lettuce, tomato, onion, Tofurkey, and a healthy spread of mayo.

Veggies even your boyfriend will eat.

Olive oil, Chunks of fresh garlic and onion, and some basic veggies come together to make this tasty dish. I used potatoes & carrots, but really any vegetable would be a great addition.

Bake on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees until crisp (about 20 - 30 minutes)

Mmmmm!

try, try again

The goal for lunch this afternoon: Strawberry crepes topped with whipped cream and cheesy eggs.

What went wrong: The store-bought crepes were nothing like mama made (ie they sucked) and the canned whipped cream was a far cry from hand whipped.

Lesson learned: Don't try to cut corners, especially when you're making an easy meal like this. Put in a little more time and you will enjoy the result a LOT more.

What went right: I found some fake sausage in the freezer that I added to the cheesy eggs. The result was grrreat. It felt nourishing and was so tasty!

Try, try again: Instead of feeling disappointed that part of my plan didn't turn out, I toasted some buns and made breakfast sandwiches with the remainder of the cheesy eggs. They were so good we forgot all about the botched crepes!

Extra Zing!

Egg salad is a great lunch option for vegetarians and meat eaters alike. In fact, there are plenty of foods that I enjoyed as a meat eater that didn't include meat. Opting to prepare a meal that falls into this category every once in a while gives me a sense of familiarity while I navigate the new rules that govern my eating.

At the grocery store last week I found these "Crispy Jalapenos" by Fresh Gourmet. I bought them not knowing what I would use them for, but because they looked super yummy, and I found that they were a GREAT addition to my egg salad sandwiches. They really gave them an "extra zing!" and made a kind of average meal feel special.

In order to incorporate some fruit into my diet I had a Naked drink along with my egg salad. I am in no way trying to promote certain brands, but when something works, it works. The Naked drink just FELT so good in my body and had a perfect sweetness to compliment my meal.

You can find thousands of Egg Salad recipes online, so I won't write mine here. But I will say, egg salad is quick, easy, and very nutritious. Especially in these summer months, it's a perfect lunch option.

Tofu and Tacos

Tacos are the obvious (and totally correct) choice for dinner on Cinco de Mayo. But remove the options of chicken or beef, and it becomes a little bit difficult to make ridiculously yummy tacos.

Obviously, there are beans. And yes, every good vegetarian will use beans (in just about everything). However, meat can give tacos an opposing texture and a taste that compliments the rest of the ingredients. Bean tacos are OKAY, but I find myself wanting something more...

This is where tofu comes in. Tofu can be made in so many ways (I'm discovering) and using it as a substitute for sliced or cubed chicken is one of the easiest. To make the dish above, I cubed extra firm tofu and marinaded it in fajita seasoning mix for an hour. I then drained it, tossed it in corn starch** mixed with cumin and red pepper, and deep fried it. The result were tasty, crispy, "chicken like" additions to my tacos.

I added re-fried beans, onion, lettuce, tomato, cheese, ranch dressing, and hot sauce to complete these tacos, but obviously you could top them with anything you like!***



**Deep frying tofu coated in Corn Starch is an easy way to make crispy tofu. I learned this from the owner of my most favorite Thai restaurant. You can also pan fry tofu, but it takes much longer to get crispy, and does not have the airy quality that it gets when deep fried.

***Some other great taco toppings include rice, potatoes & carrots (dice them, mix with garlic & onion, and pan fry!), fruits such as mango and pineapple, peppers, and mushrooms (if you dig them...none for me, thanks). Almost everything goes on tacos :)

The beginning

This is the beginning of a new stage of life. I have been married for 11 days and have been living as a vegetarian for almost three months.

I must admit that saying "I Do" was a hell of a lot easier than saying "No thanks" over and over to the delicious bacon slices and chicken patties that cross my path daily. Though I've been doing it, I haven't been fully committed to my vegetarian lifestyle. In fact, on my honeymoon I fell off the wagon quite a few times... "when in Rome", you know?

Part of the problem lies in this: I LOVE meat. And it's easy to cook meals with meat as the main ingredient. But easy is not always best (Marriage will surely be hard at times, but I have no doubt it's the most fulfilling thing for both of us!). Meat CAN be good for you, but we (Most of the people I know, Americans, and probably lots of other people in the world) have come to rely too heavily on it. Also, have you HEARD how they treat those animals (the deceased are sometimes thrown into the food that is fed to the animals, they are constantly injected with hormones to keep them from getting sick and to get them to grow faster, it goes on..)???? Ick!

Though it's been hard, and will surely continue to be hard at times (try eating out and avoiding meat, nearly impossible), I'm ready to take the plunge. I'm ready to say "I Do", or more accurately "I will not" eat meat.

That being said, I'm not a great vegetarian cook. I get stumped pretty often trying to think of tasty, easy, healthy vegetarian dishes. Sure, I know a few, but who wants to eat the same thing week after week? Right now being that my new hubby has a job, and I don't, the tastiness and healthiness of our meals is primarily in my hands.

My ambition here is to push myself to become a better cook. To discover new dishes, create dishes of my own, and share what I learn along the way. I don't have a formula for doing this, but I AM going to hold myself accountable by posting at least one meal per day. So maybe, as a result, you can learn something too.

So what's for dinner tonight? It's Cinco De Mayo, so I'm going with tacos! More on that coming next...