I've gained a lot of weight :( but I've moved and changed my life. I'm going to start school in Scotland in a few weeks!!! I'm getting on an airplane Wednesday!!! I can hardly contain my nervousness and excitement. I've started a blog about my move and travels check it out at ericasansamerica.blogspot.com
For the past 2 years I've been working on my career. (That sounds like I knew what I was doing, but I don't know how else to describe it) I really liked the idea of my job but I did not like working for my crazy boss. I decided I'd return to school for a masters. I know what I want to do but I knew I needed to get out of my current situation. Almost on a dare I started looking at schools in the UK. I found a great one in Scotland and everything worked out. I just couldn't say no! In June I moved back to my parents house for the summer. Currently my weight is 298lbs! I'm excited to move to a larger city so I can walk and hike more and try different cuisines.
My mom had a new "fad" diet she wanted to try so we've been doing it for this summer. The book is Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease. It's a plant based diet; vegan but also no oils or nuts! For me it's a fad; I cannot do this long term. My father and I are both lactose intolerant so cutting out dairy has made us both feel better...but going without meat is very hard. I often sneak out of the house for a turkey sandwich or hamburger (shhhh). I have eaten a lot less meat then I know I would've and it also makes us eat really fresh food which is better than hamburger helper or fast food.
I really should've been posting about the different recipes I've tried but I didn't think about it until tonight. I got some recipes off the internet and got so many compliments I didn't want to lose it. So I will post it here!
Quick and Easy Baked Beans
Ingredients:
- 3 cups navy beans or pinto beans, pre-cooked or from a can
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 cup tomato paste
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp mustard powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Preparation:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large casserole or baking dish, stir together all ingredients, mixing well to combine.
Cover and bake for one hour. If baked beans are too saucy, bake uncovered for another 15 minutes.
(I used ketchup instead of paste and ended up baking for 1.5hrs but it does thicken after you take it out of the oven)
The other recipe is not quite awesome. The sauce taste fine but it doesn't have the rich hearty squash taste. Any advice is welcome!
Vegan Rigatoni with Butternut Squash.
Ingredients
(Serves 4)
1 head garlic, topped trimmed, drizzled with olive oil
1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 cups veggie broth
1 package whole-wheat rigatoni
2 cups kale, chopped
1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
1/4 cup almond milk
1 pinch cayenne pepper
Salt to taste
1/4 cup fresh sage, chopped
Preparation
Wrap garlic in aluminum foil and roast at 325°F degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large pot cover the squash with the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until squash is very tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Once tender, purée the squash, veggie broth and roasted garlic until smooth. Stir in the nutritional yeast, almond milk, cayenne pepper and salt to taste. Season a pot of boiling water with salt and add the rigatoni. When it is nearly cooked to al dente, add the kale into the pot so it wilts and tenderizes. Cook for the last couple of minutes and strain pasta and kale.
Finally, toss the rigatoni and kale with the sauce and garnish with fresh sage.
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