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Tonight I made some more!

Though it may be vegan, I'm not exactly sure how healthy it was. I wish I knew how to count calories and things when cooking, but I have no idea. I'm actually trying to keep a food diary. I'm not getting too serious about it, but I'm just curious what it is that I actually eat. Paying attention to it has really shocked me in a lot of cases. I don't think I eat horribly, or exceptionally either. What really got me is the serving sizes and what size portions I eat and how it all adds up. It's crazy how easy it is to overeat.

Anyways, my dinner was really sweet (the tofu and the rice). I usually don't like sweet things unless it's dessert, however, tonight, I guess I was in the mood. The tofu recipe, I got from Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan...the book Tyler had given me as a gift.

It's called Orange Sesame Tofu. Not too hard to make at all, but may take a little bit of prep time (marinating the tofu for at least an hour is recommended). Originally, I saw another recipe suggested as a sidedish to the tofu, but when I found I didn't have all the ingredients, I looked up something similar online. It's very simply called Coconut Rice. I excluded the lemongrass and just went with the coconut milk and sautéed onions...oh and I cut the recipe in half. You could definitely taste the coconut, but I want to say it wasn't too overbearing. I honestly think the onions made the recipe, though. To go along with everything else and to bring color to my plate, I bought a huge batch of asparagus. I'm obsessed with green vegetables! I seriously can't wait to eat my leftovers tomorrow.

Just call me Chef Jiscilla

It's been a few weeks in and I'm still cooking...what are the odds?!?

This little dish ^, we made up. Some whole wheat penne, sautéed vegetables, and vegetable broth (we used vegetarian bouillon cubes). It tastes pretty good, but I think it may need a little bit more flavoring. Maybe more garlic? We did chop up 2 garlic cloves...so maybe something else? Any suggestions?

I'm trying to stay away from too many carbohydrates, though. Many of those just turning vegan often make the mistake of overeating pasta, rice, bread, and potatoes...starches with those "empty calories." They tend to slow you down more than give you energy, and have little nutritious value. That's something vegans can't afford to lose since they cut out foods from their diet that contain all those vitamins, proteins, and minerals . This is why I'm carefully watching my intake, and switching it up as much as I can with fun grains and different kinds of vegetables.

After whipping up that quick dish the other night, I wanted to try something a little more involved, but to my surprise, it was a lot easier than I had planned. I marinated some tofu overnight, and it came out absolutely delicious. I made the marinade, myself, from Alicia's Kind Diet book (Fresh ginger, shoyu, brown rice vinegar, umeboshi vinegar, toasted seasame oil, rice syrup, chopped garlic, and some water). It took me all of 5 minutes to do (okay probably less), and the next day, I baked it for approximately 30 minutes (15 on each side) and voila! It was seriously awesome. I just added asparagus and some plain millet (a high-protein grain) to my plate and dinner was served.

I'm kinda liking this cooking thing. Who woulda thought? I guess as long as meat is not involved, I'm good.