Cheap Protein: Eat Beans! Meals For The Whole Week

I gave you guys 12 quick, recipe-lute breakfasts this week that are not only high in protein (15 grams or more), but also relatively inexpensive to make. Now I'm tackling the other meals, at least a little at a time. I'd like to focus on different ingredients, like beans, that are not only cheap, but also lend themselves to a variety of recipes from soups to burgers, and more.

A singe cup of beans, as I covered in my more comprehensive Food for Runners post, provides nearly 15 grams of fiber and 15 grams of protein. This outstanding protein-fiber combination that isn't found easily anywhere else in the vegetarian/vegan diet.

Here's how to eat beans (dinner + dessert!) all week without getting bored:

// MONDAY

Try simmering up a delicious, basic Pumpkin Chili recipe. Or if pumpkin isn't your scene, you can easily substitute in more vegetable brother or some other nutritious puree to your liking. This recipe makes a good amount, so you can easily repurpose leftovers for lunch.

Serve with some Olive Oil Skillet Cornbread for a perfect pairing.

// TUESDAY 

Get some spice with a hearty Smoked Chipotle Bean Burger. Unlike yesterday's Lentil + Quinoa Burgers, these guys are baked, not fried. And they include a nice dose of healthy quinoa, along with lots of flavorings to keep even the most discerning palate excited.

If you don't need all 12 burgers for a single dinner, consider freezing them (here's how-to!) for future use -- or eating again later in the week.

// WEDNESDAY

I don't remember much about normal meatloaf, but this tasty Bean "Meat"Loaf is surely the definition of vegan comfort food. The addition of walnuts to the mix adds even more protein. And the seasonings are really just suggestions -- you can use whatever you like or have on hand.

You could even use leftovers to make faux meatloaf sandwiches!

// THURSDAY

Another soup on the menu, but this one has a trick up its sleeve. This Black Bean Bisque is delightful on its own. But that's just part I. For part II: You can incorporate the leftovers (we had around 2-1/2 cups) into a warm Quinoa Salad for lunch the next day.

The addition of kale makes the second time around even more packed with superfood goodness.

// FRIDAY

This one always sounds a little strange, but I assure you -- it's a winner. Friday is time for celebration of a week gone by and time together as a family. We like this Black Bean + Tequila Crust Pizza that's teeming with vegetables and -- my favorite -- avocados.

The beans are hidden in the crust, but you can always add more on top as well.

// SATURDAY

Sometimes by Saturday I realize I haven't eaten enough greens for the week. That's where these Black Bean + Spinach Burgers come in. They pack 2 heaping handfuls of spinach into them -- along with rolled oats for bulk.

Plus, they're green. Who doesn't love the novelty in that?

// SUNDAY

This is my cooking day, and I always make something in our slow cooker. Today, mix up something to your own tastes using these 10 Tips for Slow Cooker Soup Perfection. Beans are usually the main event in my soups and stews, and for good reason.

If you need something on the side, try Stephen's Garbanzo Garlic Knots -- they're something else.

// BONUS: DESSERTS

And if you have extra time on the weekend, consider baking up Red Velvet Black Bean Brownies or trying out this Black Bean + Avocado Pudding recipe. Oh, and this Chocolate Chip Banana Bread recipe get protein from garbanzos.

Yeah. Beans work well in desserts, too ;)

// DON'T FORGET

Today is the LAST DAY to enter to win a Nokia Lumina tablet + Belkin Cook Stand/Stylus for your kitchen. Don't miss this #giveaway. It's our biggest yet!

Looking for more shortcuts to healthful, satisfying meals?

Check out our tips for Automatic Healthy Eating!

• Stock up on frozen veggies 
• Buy greens and actually USE them 
• Create simple, go-to meals
• Learn to love alternatives
• Prep, Make, and Store
• Add In: Convenience to your advantage
• Eliminate Food Waste
• 20 Ideas for Make-Ahead Meals
• 15 Recipe-Lite Vegetarian Meals to the Rescue

And don't miss our 90 healthiest recipes of 2013! Lots of delicious, wholesome foods for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and beyond. Includes both vegan and vegetarian recipes to please the entire family -- even toddlers!





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Freezer FAQs

I think the best thing I did while I was pregnant was make a MONDO-batch of pumpkin chili and freeze it. Seven months later, we're still slurping the stuff on nights when we simply have no time to cook. What a life-saver!

We outlined our process in a post back in November. But we received quite a number of questions related to the whole thing. Too many to answer at the time, when we were caring for a newborn. But it's been almost 6 months. Time to revisit.

Are glass jars the best choice for freezing?

I don't know if I'd consider them the absolutely best choice ever for freezing. However, I don't know what would be. We try to stay away from too much plastic in our household (BPA), and wide-mouth canning jars are much less expensive than freezer-specific glass containers sold. They save space, too! Overall, breakage is the most noted concern of folks who wrote to me.

We haven't experienced any breakage, which we attribute to: 1.) Waiting to fill until the filler (in our case, the chili) cooled to room temperature (and then some in the refrigerator). 2.) Making sure to leave a good portion of empty space at the top of the jar to account for expansion. (We may have left even a bit too much room, but better safe than sorry!)

Does the food taste the same after being frozen for so long?

No. It actually does taste somewhat different. But we expected that. Not different in a bad way. But somehow the flavors have mingled in a new way. And the composition of the veggies/beans changed ever-so slightly. Like they were, well, frozen. A bit bloated is the only way I can think to describe it.

How long does frozen soup/etc. stay good once frozen?

We have a dedicated freezer in our basement set at a low, low temperature. I've read that our chili will stay good for up to a year. In a regular refrigerator/freezer combo, I have read anywhere from 3 to 6 months.

How do you keep track/label your jars?

Simple. We just use a Sharpie marker to write on the top of the jar.

What -- besides chili -- have you frozen?

Applesauce, mainly. And a few other types of soups. Now that we're running low on our supply, I'd like to make more soups, of course, but also stocks, cooked dried beans, pizza sauce, and purees in bulk.

One of our readers (Jodie) wrote that she freezes pancakes, cookies, and muffins. We don't have the right equipment right now, but I would LOVE to make up waffles and have homemade toaster waffles in the house. Need to get on that!

How did you choose the size of the jars?

We have a variety of glass Ball jars. We went with the large (I believe 32-ounce) because we realized that it would contain one complete meal for the two of us. We split it between us and have enough soup to feel full. With other items, like the sauce and purees I mention above, we will likely use the standard 16-ounce variety.

Another reader (Shady) suggests making up family-sized meals and freezing individual portions in muffin tins. I think that's a fantastic idea -- especially for foods we might want to munch on at lunch, when we often don't eat together.

What's the best way to thaw frozen food in jars?

If we have enough foresight, we try to get a jar from the freezer and let it slowly defrost in the refrigerator for a day or two. More often than not, however, we're rushing around in the evenings and make a last-minute decision to eat chili for dinner. On these nights, I put a large stock pot in the sink and fill it with warm -- not hot -- water and set the frozen jar inside. I change out the water a few times until the chili is loosened up and, when it can plop out of the jar, put it on the stove over medium heat and cook until warmed again.

For our entire process, you can check out the original FREEZE post -- the comments are especially helpful, full of tips from our readers. And if you have other questions, we'd be happy to answer them. We're not experts, but we've been through an entire round of freezing and eating now, so we feel like we're getting in a good groove.

Now it's just time to make some bulk meals again and reap the rewards later.


If you follow our home life on Writing Chapter Three, you have two posts to catch up on. The first is all about our new dinnertime routine (plus a tasty dinner idea!) now that we have a baby. And the second is about Ada's new love for momsicles. Yeah. That's right. Breastmilk popsicles.

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FREEZE!

After we posted about our goal to freeze meals before Baby A is born, we got a lot of email/comment questions regarding our methods -- especially related to our use of glass containers. We're new to freezing, so our tips aren't our own, and -- at this point -- they aren't even well tested.

H.O.W.E.V.E.R. I bought a book a couple months ago called Put 'Em Up: A Comprehensive Home Preserving Guide for the Creative Cook, from Drying and Freezing to Canning and Pickling. We've followed the guidelines they prescribe and also added some of our own along the way.

Here's the process:

We first gather our quart-sized glass jars (our favorite are wide-mouth, but we've used all of those already) and rinse them with super-hot water. Let air dry.


While the jars dry, we prepare whatever we want to fill the jars with. So far, we've made Pumpkin Chili, 15-Minute Applesauce, and Thai Jambalaya.


Then, we fill the jars. It isn't absolutely necessary, but we purchased one of those canning funnels to aid with transporting our food to the jars. It was less than two dollars, and I'd say well worth it. Far less mess to clean up afterward.


This part is important: We leave 2 to 3 inches of space for expansion from the top of the food to the top of the jar. The reason glass jars explode in the freezer is because, as with anytime a liquid freezes, the liquid WILL expand. If there isn't any place for it to go: BOOM.

Also important: We let everything cool to room temperature before putting on the lids. To speed up the process, I've placed the jars in the refrigerator for an hour or two with good success.


To be extra safe . . . we then take a square of plastic wrap and fold it into a smaller square (that's either double or quadrupled over) to serve as a temporary lid. We secure the plastic wrap with the medal jar top, but not too tightly. This way, if something expands like CRAZY, it'll have at least some room to escape.


We gather all the jars and head to our lovely basement where our new upright freezer is located.

Note: You don't need a fancy upright freezer to freeze foods. We bought one because we're participating in a frozen farm share program this winter and wanted more space for storage. The thing set us back around $300.


If you don't have a dedicated freezer or you have a chest freezer, simply stack your jars inside and let chill overnight. You can then replace the tops of the jars with the metal inserts the following day, once everything is solid.


If you do have a freezer, chances are it may have coiled shelves that are incredibly cold. We never set our to-be frozen jars on these coils. Instead, we stack 'em in the door shelves to avoid the bottom freezing much faster than the top. Again, it's one of our weird, made-up methods . . . but we feel safer doing it this way.

We wait a good 24 hours before returning to the jars to replace the temporary tops with the metal lids. And at that point, we move the jars to the coiled shelves.


Oh, and don't forget to use a Sharpie to write the date on the top of your food! Most frozen items last 6 full months. It's glorious. So far, we have 12 quarts of chili/jambalaya (which, for us, equals 12 meals) and 4 quarts of applesauce (so about 4 weeks' worth).


What should we freeze next?!

Veteran food-freezers: Are we missing anything? Any tips to add to this process? And do you have other methods you prefer over freezing in glass? We'd love to hear your thoughts. Just leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker [at] gmail [dot] com.

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The Best of Intentions

I'm still fighting my cold from last week. And this weekend, we had lots to accomplish. Needless to say, we didn't get everything done. A lot of time was spent lounging on the couch, eating, and meaning to cross items off our to-do list. It wasn't all a waste, though.

Stephen ran a 5K!

His first mile clocked in at 4:56, which was wayyy too fast. He was feeling it at the end of the race:


Regardless, he beat his high school PR in the 5K with a time of 16:35 (and snagged 2nd place overall)!


The rest of the day, he rested while I cooked. We bought a large upright freezer a few weekends ago, and we're trying to stock up before Baby A arrives.


What did we make? 10 quarts of Smoked Pumpkin Chili and 4 quarts of 15-Minute Applesauce. All should keep for up to 6 months in the freezer. We want to make more applesauce, another kind of stew, and some Pumpkin Garlic Knot dough this weekend to add to the stockpile.

Speaking of dirtying dishes . . . remember our dishwasher dilemma? Well, we finally caved and bought our tiny portable machine.


We haven't hooked it up yet -- but we're hoping we love it as much as we think we will!


I also started work on a new sewing project. But it had been over two months since I used my sewing machine. In theory, it looks cool . . . but it's not coming together as well as I would hope. Does anyone know where I can find good sewing tutorials online that go step-by-step? I'm hoping to hone my skills over the winter months.

What did you accomplish this weekend? I'm now almost full-term, so we're definitely feeling the time-crunch. And I still need to pack my hospital bag, among many, many other things. Yikes!

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In-a-Pinch Chili

Chili is the easiest, most nutritious meal I can ever think to create in a pinch. Happily, all the ingredients needed are either bulk/dry or in cans. So, if you stock your shelves just right, you can rest each night knowing you'll always have SOMETHING to make for dinner that is satisfying and healthy.

Please excuse the steam clouding this photo. I couldn't wait to eat it.

QUINOA IN-A-PINCH CHILI

What you'll need . . .

• 2 cans (or one large) of kidney beans
• 1 can low-sodium corn kernels
• 1 large can whole tomatoes
• 1 to 2 cans low sodium vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup red quinoa, cooked
• 1/2 cup TVP (optional)
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced (or garlic powder)
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Method . . .

1. Cook quinoa by mixing the 1/2 cup quinoa with 1 cup water. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Set aside.
2. Drain and rinse the kidney beans and corn kernals. Set aside.
3. In a large stock pot over medium-high heat, pour in your olive oil and garlic. Let cook for a couple minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Toss in the kidney beans, corn, tomatoes (juice and all), vegetable broth, quinoa, and TVP. Add the smoked paprika and salt. Bring to a boil.
5. Then cover and let simmer for half an hour. Or less, depending on your time crunch. Squash the tomatoes before serving with the back of a large spoon.
6. Serve with 3-hour Naan or 5-minute Naan.

*** This meal tastes great alone or with some melted cheddar. I highly recommend adding the cheddar.

HOUSE UPDATE

More house madness today. We're waiting to hear if our offer has been accepted. I'm. On. Edge. In the meantime, we're clearing out every nook and cranny. Cleaning every crevice. Patching every hole. Etc. I'm already exhausted and we've hardly scratched the surface.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

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New and Improved: Pumpkin Chili Recipe

Thanks for all your comments and emails -- your help -- with recovering my beloved pumpkin chili recipe from my old site. I had no idea I could get it back! The photos I originally took of the pot were dark and fuzzy. Muddled, even. So, I set out to make a fresh batch to fill my stomach and to photograph in daylight . . . and I even tweaked the recipe a bit.

No. I didn't take the pumpkin puree out. I'm planning to use the orange stuff till even I'm sick of it. (Which I highly doubt will happen anytime soon. Or ever.)

Some of you will be happy to learn that this new, improved pumpkin chili doesn't have beer in it. I received several requests on the old site to take it out. I tried it instead with vegetable broth to see flavor was still alright. It's more than alright. It's overwhelmingly delicious. (Though, you beer lovers can easily substitute back in your favorite fall brew). Oh, yeah. And I used smoked paprika for extra flair (well worth it!).


SMOKED PUMPKIN CHILI

What you'll need . . .

• 1 medium to large cooking onion, chopped
• 3 large cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cans (or one large can) of dark kidney beans, drained and rinsed.
• 1 can of low-sodium corn kernels, drained and rinsed
• 1 large (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, keep the juice
• 1 can pumpkin puree
• 1 cup vegetable broth (or beer of choice)
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika (or regular)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt
• 10 to 15 sage leaves (optional)

Method . . .

1. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and add the onions and garlic. Cook until onions are tender.
2. Pour in the pumpkin puree and vegetable broth (or beer). Mix. Pour in the can of whole tomatoes (with the juice). Mix again.
3. Then add the kidney beans and corn kernels. Season with the paprika, black pepper, and salt.
4. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. You'll want to use a spatula or mixing spoon to crush the whole tomatoes a bit. Keep them chunky, but try to crush each one a couple times to distribute evenly.
5. Then lower the heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for 45 minutes. Again, stir occasionally.
6. Add in the sage leaves (I rubbed mine a bit with my fingers to get the flavor out before dropping into the pot). Cook at a low simmer for another 15 minutes.

Verdict on the new version? Better than the original. Of course, my cooking is constantly evolving and improving, so I expected it to get at least somewhat better. I think the specific attention to the seasonings helped out quite a bit. If you can't find smoked paprika (we bought ours at TJ Max of all places), use regular. But I think I've seen smoke flavor powder at the store. Perhaps a dash of that would suffice.

We like our chili served with cheese cubes inside. The applewood smoked cheddar worked wonderfully and added even MORE of that smokey flavor. A unique bowl of chili, indeed!

How do you personalize your cooking and baking? Do you find yourself tinkering with a specific recipe from year to year -- trying to make it better each time? Or do you hold on to those family recipes and make them exactly as they've been made for generations? We don't have many family recipes, so we're assembling our own recipe box. We'd love to hear about your process!

Just leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker [at] gmail [dot] com.

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Chili Beer Bread

Seems I only like bread baking if I'm going with an extreme. No-knead varieties (like the pumpkin loaf, white-whole wheat loaf, and crusty garlic-Tuscan herb loaf) take over a day to rise. On the other hand, some of my recent favorites (like our pumpkin dinner rolls and wasabi dinner rolls) require only little rising time.

Today's beer bread recipe is also extreme. Indeed. Extremely EASY. You should have most ingredients on hand. And there's absolutely no time at all that you must wait for the dough to puff.

Just mix and bake. That's all it takes.


CHILI BEER BREAD

What you'll need . . .

• 2 cups unbleached bread flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 12 ounces beer (we like fall varieties best for this recipe)
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Method . . .

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. You'll need to lightly grease an 8 or 9 inch bread pan.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the bread flour, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, and chili powder.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the beer and olive oil.
4. Using the paddle attachment, stir on low speed and slowly pour in the beer/oil mixture. Once combined, remove from bowl and knead with your hands until well incorporated. The dough should be somewhat sticky, not too dry. If it is too dry, consider adding a bit of water -- 1 tablespoon at a time. If it's too wet, add a bit of flour. You want an elastic ball.
5. Put dough into bread pan and flatten just a bit to fill the pan.
6. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
7. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Then turn over onto a wire rack.

What results is a hearty, dense loaf. But not dense in a bad way. Just substantial. Filling. Delicious. And I can't wait to try this recipe with other beers (hello, stouts and porters!) and spices (maybe dill, curry, cloves, etc.). That's what I love about bread and cooking/baking in general.

The combinations you can create are endless!

How does the chili taste in the bread? Think of it this way: If you didn't know it was there, you wouldn't know that the flavor you're tasting is chili powder. It just adds some flair to the mix. The fall beer, too, gives the loaf a nice spice. However, none of these flavors are overpowering. While this bread is great served with dinner, I also toasted and spread with peanut butter for breakfast before my long run.


What do you prefer: The satisfaction of waiting or instant gratification? Of course, for this question, I'm asking specifically about cooking and baking . . . but you can take it as generally as you'd like! Just leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker [at] gmail [dot] com.

Hope you all had a great weekend, we'll be posting our recap soon!

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Chili Soup: Slow Cooker Recipe

While we're on the topic of smart foods for endurance athletes and marathon runners . . . a recipe! Yup -- we think this soup recipe is the perfect pair to this information. It may be over 90 degrees outside today, but the forecast calls for a drastic cool-down this weekend. Fall-like weather is returning slowly, but surely. What does this mean exactly?

It's time! Time to break out the SLOW COOKER!

We affectionately call this slurpable stuff the "poor (never home)maker's" stew because it's full of all the leftover foods from the week. Stuff we didn't want to waste. What's in your pot may differ from what's in ours. Use the ingredients list as a mere guide -- and use up your ripe produce (and lonely cans of beans) before it wilts away!


You may think this stew looks suspiciously familiar -- maybe a little TOO much like our Rainbow Stew. And you're right! But we've made a few modifications for health (for example: lower the salt content and level of difficulty!).

THE POOR (NEVER HOME)MAKER'S STEW

What you'll need . . .

• 2 cans (or one large can) of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can of low-sodium corn kernels, drained and rinsed
• 1 can of fire-roasted, diced tomatoes, juice and all
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 medium zucchinis, chopped
• 1/2 to 1 cup chopped Opo squash (again, use what YOU have -- maybe eggplant?)
• 4 cups of water
• 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Method . . .

1. Chop, mince, and otherwise prepare all your ingredients.
2. Put EVERYTHING -- all vegetables (and fruits if you want to get all technical on me) and beans -- in the slow cooker pot and mix them to distribute.
3. Pour in the water and soy sauce. Sprinkle in the spices.
4. Turn the slow cooker to high and cook for about 3 to 3-1/2 hours. Mix every hour or so.
5. Serve with bread or pumpkin macaroni and cheese. It freezes well, too!

If you have yet to invest in a slow cooker -- I would highly recommend revisiting the idea. Though we've gone through our list of useless kitchen gadgets, a slow cooker is CERTAINLY not among them. It's one of our favorite kitchen contraptions. One we use time and time again. If you do have your own, what's your favorite slow cooker meal?

We have several -- mostly soups/stews:

• Rainbow Stew
• Black-Eyed Pea Stew
• Rutabaga-Carrot Soup
• Slow Cooker Curry
• Crock Pot Meals: FAQs

In other news, Stephen cut my hair last night. Yes. Stephen. I find it hilarious -- the horror that comes over someone's face when I tell them I let my husband go scissor-happy on me. But he did a fantastic job. I've been wanting a chop for a while. The way I look at it, perhaps it's SLIGHTLY uneven (though, so far, I've found no issues), but that's another $45+ in our pockets for our anniversary celebration this weekend!

Or to go towards savings (whatever that is . . . ).


ALSO: Don't forget to enter our Operation Beautiful Giveaway. That's right! We're giving away a copy of Caitlin Boyle's new book -- enter by Friday, September 3rd at 9PM EST for your chance to win!

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Cheap and Simple Chili

Remember how I absolutely hate leftovers? Chili is one of the only exceptions. And now that we're trying to save some dough with smarter grocery shopping, leftovers factor in at least one night a week. Enter this exceedingly easy chili recipe, and pinching pennies has never tasted better!

Be sure to stay tuned for the oh-so simple and satisfying vegan corn biscuits that we made to accompany. This recipe yields enough chili two two people to eat heaping helpings once a nice for two nights. That means enough chili for like four lunches, if you'd rather use it that way.

Can you hear all those quarters collecting in your piggy bank? Not only that, it's really good for you, too!


What you'll need . . .

• 1 large (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 regular (15 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 to 2 cups water (depending on how thick you like your chili -- we used two)
• 1 large (or two 15 ounce) can kidney beans
• 1 regular (15 ounce) can salt-free corn
• 1/2 large green pepper, chopped
• 2 large handfuls baby spinach
• 1 cup TVP (optional)
• Salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste

Method . . .

1. Put everything except the spinach, TVP, and salt/pepper/cayenne into a large stock pot and cook over medium heat. I also tried to smush some of the whole tomatoes to make them less whole. But I still like how chunky they are.
2. Start seasoning with your salt/pepper/cayenne. You can always revisit if you don't do enough, but can't take away. So, proceed with caution.
3. Add in the TVP (it will plump in the soup). And then the spinach. Turn heat to low and let simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
4. If you feel you'd like the chili thinner, just add more water. It's that easy.

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DETOX: Day 10

Woah! Healthy lunch alert! This is what I ate Sunday afternoon to power myself through the rest of the day. A month or so ago, I might have laughed at this almost-pornographic display of fruits and veggies (plain kale? no way!). And I certainly would have never expected them to actually fill me up as a meal on their own. And where's the bread?!

What I've learned in the past two weeks is that avocados are my favorite thing ever. I've known of this love for quite a while, but I have always paired the green mushy stuff with mozzarella (and drizzled with olive oil, etc.) to feel entirely satisfied. Now, just slap on a few fresh slices of tomato, and I'm good to go. Even without the ciabatta. I'm becoming quite fond of rice cakes and their cheery crunch.

So on day 10 of the "detox" -- how am I doing? (And if you're just joining us, read about where it all began: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, etc.)

Here's the scoop:

• I've maintained the 2 pound weight loss I reported on day 2 . . . and added (lost?) another since (yup -- 3 big ones!). I'm not really trying to shed sizes or anything, I'm happy at my current weight -- however, it's definitely an added perk, or I wouldn't have listed it first.
• My energy level is stable and much higher than before. I'm not dipping into food comas as much during the day. And this is doing wonders for my after-work running.
• I'm not craving the "bad stuff" as much anymore. I typically nagged Stephen to have "pizza night" every week. Usually on Wednesday. And now I'm looking forward to making my own healthy pizza sometime this weekend -- dough with added flaxseed nutrition and all -- because I don't want all the white bread and SO MUCH cheese. Also, I'm not forking over a daily $1.50 to my "dealer" (of candy bars) at work anymore. So long, vending machine!
• I'm eating breakfast. Every. Single. Day. This one's important. Since I started slurping smoothies, I find I get excited for 'em . . . so I make the time each morning. Before, I was split between cereal, oatmeal, eggs, etc. And I never got my sh*t together and actually made anything. I'd wander through my mornings half-dazed, just waiting until lunch.
• Because I'm not craving the "bad stuff" . . . we're spending less on going out to eat. This weekend I want to stay in and cook and million awesome meals/snacks/desserts. Not really feeling up to consuming that restaurant-sized pound-o-pasta I usually get at our favorite dinner joint.
• I'm not eating EVERYTHING detox. Meaning, I have a beer every now and then (in fact, I had one on Monday night). I also eat a lot . . . and eat dessert quite frequently (as in . . . every day). But what this new way of eating has helped me to do is stay pumped about consuming gross amounts of fruits, veggies, and stop eating ONLY white bread, cheese, refined sugar, and repeat. Even without 100% commitment, I'm enjoying all these health benefits and more.
  

There are a variety of other positives I'll save for another post. Specifically related to mood, body stuff, and a category I'll call OTHER for now. If you're not just waiting to slap me at this point (I honestly don't feel like the food I eat makes me better than anyone else, as the photo above of us sitting in a large chair overlooking the world might suggest), you can enjoy this easy veggie chili recipe! And even if you are ready to give me a black eye, because even I get super-duper annoyed when people go on and on and on about how awesome they're eating -- like I just did --etc., it's a good recipe . . . so keep reading!

I seriously think kale is like a happy pill or something.

What you'll need . . . (makes a lot -- good for several meals!)

• 1 large eggplant (cut into 1-inch cubes)
• 2 white onions, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium zucchini, chopped
• 2 large bell peppers, cored, seeded, diced
• 28-ounce can plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped, including liquid
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1-2 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 15-ounce can of white beans (drained and rinsed)
• 15-ounce can of kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
• 15-ounce can of corn (the salt-free kind, drained and rinsed)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Olive oil

Method . . .

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Roast eggplant by scattering cubes onto a rimmed cookie sheet covered in foil . . . and bake for approx. 30 minutes. Stir once during baking process. Then set aside.
3. In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and throw in the onions. Cook until glassy (4 minutes). Add garlic and cook one minute more.
4. Then add to the stock pot the zucchini and bell peppers. Cook 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally.
5. Add in all other ingredients -- including the eggplant -- and heat until boiling. Then bring down to a simmer (over low heat) for 30 minutes.
6. Season as desired with the salt and pepper.

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