A Vegetarian's Dinner Dilemma

I always have such a difficult time figuring out what to make for dinner. Recently I have been keen about getting enough protein, this past week I've immersed my self in piles and piles of nutrition books and I found out I was seriously protein deficient. I guess it has to do with that fact that I am a vegetarian, I give us vegetarians a bad rep. I can never manage to get enough dairy, iron, or protein so with this research I ll be attempting to fix my laziness and figure out how to.

Its interesting, being raised in an area where vegetarianism isn't so hot really cuts down your options and makes you hunt hard for all the possible solutions. I was in Seattle last year and by the looks of it, it seems as though quite a bit of the population truly love their animals, alive that is, I found a nutritious vegetarian option everywhere that didn't consist of only white bread, butter and a shred of ice-burg lettuce. In fact a little building near where we were staying, opened up a brand new Vegan Cafe, Chaco Canyon Cafe, everything from the drinks, soups, to baked goods were vegan and mind you terribly delicious. As a bonus most of the food was organic and the sitting layout, although minimalist, was very warm with all the earth tone colors covering the cafe's walls.

Unfortunately I can't afford a round trip to Seattle every day for dinner so I have to suck it up and make something. Last night, I made, don't kill me, Kraft mac and cheese sharp cheddar, a dark greens salad and soy chunks in text mex seasoning. For a teenager, a super easy meal! And tasty, I wouldn't advise eating the entire box of mac and cheese, so split it with a sibling or friend. The salad came straight out of the box and I had it plain, if you can't stand dressingless salad the cleanest and healthiest way to go would be lemon juice. The soy chunks in text mex came pre-made, so it was pretty pre-packaged dinner, starkly diffrent to the soup and biscuits I made from scratch. I must admit, the latter was much more satisfying.

And lastly, I do have a confession to make. I am not really a whole VEGETARIAN, and some people would love to argue me to death that I am not one at all. I prefer to call myself a semi-vegetarian, or as my cooking teacher four years ago called me a lacto-ovo-pouv-vegetarian. I do in fact eat chicken, but I observe religious days 4 days a week were I am a 'complete' vegetarian, that means no chicken on those 4 days.

And yes for the record I’ve never consumed beef or pork or anything that falls under those meat umbrellas..............intentionally.

-POw

Cooking in a World of Geeks

Caught up in world of freaks and geeks, I am presently discovering the amazement of my advanced research class. Essentially a min-PhD., kind of like a sneak peak at the world of research and the absolute joy of it. The class, cutely titled I.Q. (Inquiry Quest 20 *the link gives somewhat of an idea of my class), requires us, that is all the advanced students, to immerse ourselves in to actual field experience.

My immersion works around case studies and home tests of foods. So let me introduce you to my topic, I am exploring the world of adolescent nutrition, and whether or not it's possible to bring the world of appeal beside it. So with recipes in hand, a kitchen, and for now (later on I ll be testing other teenagers) my mouth I am hunting down some delicious and nutritious recipes!
So in my hunt I encountered and prepared some fresh cream of celery, with freshly baked biscuits, and some Gouda for my lunch. Of course I had some coffee, with lots of cream and sugar ( I am not very serious about my black potion). The soup was the epitome of healthy, made with milk and only a drop of oil, cream, pureed celery and onions. The original recipe of the biscuits called for 1 and 1/2 cups of whole cream, giving one biscuit (out of 12) a whopping 200 calories, I substituted for milk and brought it down to a smaller digit. However, replacing the flour with whole wheat/grain would have been a healthier option. Gouda cheese, like most should be kept at a limit, but well thats my weakness--I love cheese! Overall a healthy meal, however lacking in protein.

-Pow