Happy Herbivore Meal Plan: Curried Red Lentil Soup

Happy Herbivore Meal Plan Curried Red Lentil Soup

I used some orange lentils I had in the pantry (which turned very yellow). This is a good soup and easy to make. Just a lot of chopping of onion and carrot. Can be a little spicy, so you might want to reduce some of the spices depending on your tastes. Generous portion size is still low-cal.

Review

Me: Very good.

Happy Herbivore Meal Plan: Kale Waldorf Salad

 Kale Waldorf Salad, Happy Herbivore Meal Plan

This Kale Waldorf Salad is very easy to make, and very filling. I chopped baby kale (from Costco) with my ulu knife (which I learned about from Chef AJ*). Lucky me got to pick apples off my backyard tree and make this sweet and tangy and nearly fat-free salad. There are some walnuts in the salad and dressing, but no added oil. Lots of nice crunch and tang.

Reviews:
Me: Loved it!

* See Hale to the Kale post.

Happy Herbivore Meal Plan: Oatmeal

This was supposed to be Cinnamon Banana Oatmeal, but I was out of banana. Luckily it's fig season at my house and the fig tree is having a really good year. I loved toasting the oatmeal first. It made the oatmeal stay kind of light and flaky versus mushy. I don't like mushy oatmeal!  I made a double or triple amount so I didn't have to make oatmeal two mornings in a row. I added a little non-dairy creamer and a very tiny drizzle of agave. Maybe I can wean myself off the agave. But I was a good girl and left off the vegan margarine I normally would have added.

Reviews:
Me: Loved it.

Trying the Happy Herbivore Meal Plan again...

 My weight has just been inching up and up and it's hit another number that scares me! (170 lbs.) The "Vegan-Modified Paleo" was not working for me...sooo hard to get protein and I just didn't feel good. I lost about 5 pounds, but gained it right back.

Last week I added back in exercise...made it to the pool three times! Yeah! And gained 2 pounds! Ha!

This week I will keep up the physical end as well as watch the calorie intake and see if I can gain some ground. Or should I say lose it? Gain ground, not weight! Lose weight, gain ground!

So, I am going to give Lindsay Nixon's Happy Herbivore Meal Plan another try, maybe even trying to stick with it until the New Year and see if the pounds "melt off." I've yet to have pounds melt off me and I'd like to see what that feels like! Also in the mix soon is a CPAP machine. Hoping that helps with energy levels and all that.

I was pretty good yesterday (and so far this morning) and have followed the plan and made some food ahead so I won't get caught with my hand in the cookie jar. Or the Halloween Candy jar...

What pushed me over the line to try this again was Linsday's email about her plan. She herself had lost some weight, but was gaining it back. Once she started following her own meal plans strictly, she lost 15 pounds in a couple of months. There's no magic to it, and this isn't an endorsement, but we all know that if someone lays out a plan for us, it's easier to stick to. She also includes all recipes, and a shopping list. So, here I go.

Of course I won't be listing every single item or her recipes (unless I change them drastically) since this is her business and you should buy her plan if you want to follow it. I will list only what she already lists on her site about the plan (before purchasing), which is usually the names of the dishes. What you'll get from me is a photo (mine), comments and maybe some suggestions on changes or remarks on how I changed it for my diet or likes.

New meal plans are released every Wednesday...

Current release date: October 9, 2013

Individual Plan Highlights

Kale Waldorf Salad (NEW!)
Curried Red Lentil Soup (NEW!)
Farro, Apple & Pecan Salad (NEW!)
Quick Carrot Curry Soup (NEW!)
Cinnamon-Apple Oatmeal
Cauliflower Risotto
Lentil Chili
Chipotle Cakes
Blueberry Parfait
Adobo Tostados

Family Plan Highlights

Kale Waldorf Salad (NEW!)
Curried Red Lentil Soup (NEW!)
Farro, Apple & Pecan Salad (NEW!)
Garlic & Kale Soup
Asian Bowl
Easy Spinach Wrap
Toasted Oatmeal
Southwest Burgers
Vegetable Pinwheels
Breakfast Roll-Up

UnDiet: Spiced Apple-Carrot Cake/Muffins

I made this for the first time yesterday, and I have to say, it's a recipe I'll make again! I might reduce the oil a little next time, but I do like the fall flavor (nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice) of these muffins. My favorite size muffin is the mini since they bake faster and I can easily pop one in my mouth. Less messy than a big muffin.

I love that I got to use an apple right off my own tree.

Changes I made: I didn't have any plain rice flour or buckwheat flour which the recipe calls for, so I used my "GF Mix" instead. Also subbed agave for the honey. (Meghan is mostly plant-based, but does have recipes that use honey or egg or a chia egg-substitute.) Also used "Egg Replacer" for the egg/chia.

And even though this might wreck the "Undiet-ness" of this recipe, I think it would be great with added walnuts or mini-chocolate chips!

Looking for answers

I've been taking a break and will continue to break from this site for awhile. I've not been very good at keeping to any of the books. Maybe I've just stretched myself too thin. Who'da thunk there'd be an ADD-insane number of vegan low-cal/diet books on the market all at once? At least I'm glad I live in this era of so many vegan choices.

My weight and a few other issues are occupying my time right now, and my next plan is a different sort of diet to cleanse my system and gut and slowly add things back in. I'm looking at possible thyroid and autoimmune issues and I may just blog about it on a new site. I'll post that link here when it's live. My plan at this point, is to try that for two months and slowly add back in individual foods or categories of foods and see if I have any particular reactions. I'll be doing my own (vegan-modified) version of a Paleo/AIP (Auto-Immune Protocol) Diet.

With any luck, I'll be able to add back in more "regular" vegan foods at some point and can get back to using these wonderful cookbooks.

Come follow this journey at: Coastal Vegan Cave Girl

You can still find some of my food photography at a new family business run by a local couple here in the San Francisco Bay Area. I encourage you to visit their website and order their food if you are in this area. It's home-made vegan convenience food! (And at really reasonable prices!) Their food is healthy, delicious and beautiful and made with love and great care.

Vegan Twizt, http://www.vegantwizt.com