Progress

Do you think eating 12 pumpking chocolate chip cookies cancels out any good I've done from not eating meat the last two days? And would you believe how tempted I was by a sausage McMuffin from McDonalds this morning?

This not eating meat thing is hard!

My motivation right now is really curiosity. I'm curious how I'll feel at the end of the month by not eating meat.

Here are the recipes from this week's meals so far:

Broccoli Cheese Calzones:
1 container ricotta cheese
1 box (9oz) frozen broccoli, thawed (I used 1 raw bunch, chopped)
1/3 cup grated parm cheese
2 egg whites
1 tsp dried Basil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
pizza bread dough
1 can pizza sauce (or make your own)

Mix all but the last 2 ingredients together. Spread onto rolled out dough, fold over, and seal edges. Bake at 400 F for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.
Verdict: Good. Not great. DH liked them, except the bread part. I probably could have just baked the filling with noodles or something for him. Or put it into a veggie lasagna.

Mediterranean Minestrone Casserole:
3 Medium carrots, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 cups water
1 cup vegetable broth
2 6 oz cans tomato paste
2 TBSP Italian seasoing
1 TBSP sugar
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
2 cloves minced garlic
1 1/2 cups cut green beans
1 Cup uncooked elbow noodles

Mix everything except the noodles and green beans into a crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. 30 minutes before serving, turn crock pot to high and stir in noodles and beans. Top with parmesan cheese.

Verdict: make sure you cook your green beans all the way. Ours were too crunchy. This was good. It would have tasted better with some italian sausage... And it kind of looked like throw-up. Not to deter you from making this. It was good. Just not THAT good. If I make it again I will probably use kidney beans.

Anyway, things are going well. I'm determined. And my grocery bill was ON budget this week, WAHOO! So that is a major motivation to not eat meat. And I got cage-free eggs on sale, so I'm excited to try those tomorrow. We'll see if I can taste a difference. It's ok if you think I'm nuts. I probably am.