African/Indian Sweet Potatoes

Indian Sweet Potatoes

My husband and I LOVED this. I adapted it from what I think was actually and African recipe- but it reminded us of some of our favorite Indian flavors. The kids ate it okay. Sorry there's no picture, we gobbled it up to fast.

2 Tbsp Peanut oil
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 large onion
2 carrots
3 celery ribs
2 tsp minced garlic
2 lbs sweet potatoes
2 cups veg broth
28 oz crushed tomatoes (I used half canned, half diced fresh)
1 tsp salt, divided
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 almond butter
1/2 cup light coconut milk

1. Peel and chop sweet potatoes into chunks. Dice carrots, celery and onion.
2. Heat peanut oil in large skillet. Add curry powder, onions, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally for 2 min. Add garlic and 1/2 tsp salt cook for 1 more minute. Stire in sweet potatoes, broth and tomatoes and bring soup to a boil. simmer covered 20-30 min.
3. Season with 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, nut butters and coconut milk stirring to combine. Let simmer 20 minutes. Serve as soup or over rice.

Shrimp Tostadas

Made these last night and they were a huge hit. Everyone had seconds (except for Naomi, who just ate one).

I just heated black refried beans in a pot.

Threw a taco rice mix in the rice maker.

Then sauteed shrimp in some lime juice with smoked paprika, garlic and fresh cilantro.

Also made a "salsa" topping of avocado, tomato, cilantro, red onion with a squeeze of fresh lime juice and salt.

Other toppings included shredded cheese, plain greek yogurt, and lettuce.

Stack em on home made or pre-made tostada shells and enjoy!

Substitutes

What healthy substitutes do you use on a regular basis?

One of my new favorites is using plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream. For a while now I've been sneaking it into my sour cream container so my husband wouldn't know. He finally found out the other day, and said to just keep putting it in the sour cream container so he didn't have to THINK about the fact that he was eating yogurt instead of sour cream! You really cannot tell the difference though. I've used it when cooking, baking, as a topping, etc and it always works great.

I also recently saw Flaxseed Milk in the store and thought I'd give it ago. My body doesn't handle milk very well, and there are all kinds of recent studies that show that the cow's milk isn't good for you. Especially with calcium being available in other sources- like the Flaxseed Milk. Well, it was my favorite milk substitute so far- especially as far as consistency goes. Unfortunately, its a newer product, and I've been back to the store that I bought it at and unable to find it again. I'm hoping it grows in popularity so I can find and buy it more often.

A seafood night standby

Fish Tacos!


We started making these after our trip to Alaska when we brought bake 100 lbs of halibut. Since I can't usually gut the price of halibut, now I make them with tilapia. I usually have a bag of frozen tilapia filets in the freezer so I can make these on a whim.

My batter is done by eye, but goes something like this:

2 parts bread crumbs
1 part corn meal
1 part flour
1 tsp paprika
then season salt, salt, and pepper to taste.

I pan fry them in butter. About 1-2 Tbsp of butter per filet (depending on size).

I like them with napa cabbage, avocado and either fresh salsa or Cafe Rio dressing.

Everyone gobbles them up.

The easiest Vegetarian Enchiladas EVER!

Sorry for the lame picture. I had leftovers for lunch today, and this was my attempt at making them look good the second day.

Seriously though- these are the easiest vegetarian enchiladas ever. And they were a hit with the whole fam!

Quick n tasty Veggie Enchiladas
1 cup of brown rice
2 cups of water

1 can Bush's Grillin Beans- Black Bean Fiesta

Shredded mexican blend of cheese

Your favorite tortillas

1 can of your favorite enchilada sauce

Directions:
Put brown rice and water in rice cooker and let it do its thing.
When done mix with can of Fiesta Beans. Spoon into tortillas (I dip mine in enchilada sauce first), sprinkle with cheese, and roll up. Place in a baking pan. Repeat until filling is gone. Pour excess enchilada sauce over the top. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 375* until bubbly and crisping on edges. Top with favorite toppings and enjoy!

Fiesta Salad (or wrap)

Last night we went to a neighborhood BBQ pot luck. Tons of neighbors came. It was so fun to meet all the people around us. Can I just say that I live in a super cool, super fun neighborhood? Really. I do.

I created and made the following salad- and had at least three people go to the trouble of finding out who made it, and then coming to me and complimenting me on it. I'd say that that's a sign of success. I think this could also be thrown in a wrap for a healthy lunch.

Jaime's Fiesta Salad

Entire head of green leaf lettuce torn
1/4 C. finely chopped cilantro
1 cup of corn (I had one cob of fresh corn that I cut off the cob)
1 + cup of black beans (I rinsed and used not quite a full can)
1 cup diced fresh tomatoes

Dressing (kinda a long list of ingredients, but I just kept throwing stuff in till it tasted right)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 dashes Tabasco sauce
1 tsp lime juice
1/2 - 1 tsp taco seasoning
dash of olive oil
dash of balsamic vinegar

I threw this all together about an hour before and chilled in the fridge.

Quiche for dinner

Sorry- you only get a picture of the clean-up. It was good, and it was enjoyed.

Quiche and frittatas are great because they're simple and you can change them up to your personal taste easily.

My basic recipe goes like this:

combine in blender:
4 eggs
1/2 cup cottage cheese or plain greek yogurt
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Pour over:
12 oz thawed hash browns
1 of your favorite cheese
Chopped veggies of your choice (I like peppers, mushrooms, spinach, zucchini, etc)

Bake at 375* for about 30 min.

Top with your favorite salsa, sour cream, avocado etc. I usually serve with fresh fruit and green smoothies!

Feeding a crowd vegetarian

We've been busy with the move and a family reunion in Colorado and all that. Which means our weekly meal plan has gone more to the wayside than I'd like to admit. Well, my brother and sister in law are in town for my cousin's wedding on Tuesday, and my Father in law and his wife were coming through town yesterday, as well as Jake's sister Brea and her husband. We wanted to have everyone over to see the house and join us for dinner. At first I was concerned- Sunday is one of our no meat days....

Then I decided that our eating plan needed to stay on track. After all- we eat good on vegetarian days- surely our guests could enjoy it too. But what could I make that would feed a large crowd and be enjoyed by all? I decided on a fajita/taco bar. Since vegetarian food is all about enjoying flavor- I made sure to have lots of flavorful toppings. I sauteed peppers, onions and mushrooms in a little olive oil and taco seasoning. I warmed refried beans in a mini-crock. I cooked fresh tortillas (the raw Costco ones I love). Then I made home made salsa and Cafe Rio dressing. We also had lettuce, cheese, brown rice and sour cream. For sides we had grapes and corn on the cob. I let everyone stack/build them how they like. DELISH! Lots of compliments. Everyone was full and happy.

So see- you can even feed a crowd vegetarian with no complaints.

Wrap it up!

I made Chinese Chicken Salad the other night and wrapped them up in our favorite fresh cooked tortillas from Costco. Everyone chowed them down happily, even though I snuck all kinds of stuff in there.



For the dressing I followed this recipe:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 cup peanut oil
3 green onions, minced

It was kinda a lot though. I'd use only 1/2 -3/4 of it.

I had chopped cabbage, finely chopped carrots, mandarin oranges, roasted peanuts, a few chopped dried apricots, a little cooked chicken, ramen noodles...and it was fabulous.

It inspired me to write this post- because I think wraps are the perfect summer lunch or dinner! Below is a guide to show just how creative you can get. I created this guide after my cousin asked me for the "recipe" for the lunch I'd made when she was visiting. I realized I didn't have one, that I just always threw them together- but that they were always enjoyed.

Salad Wraps
Choose at least one (but feel free to do more) from each of the following categories (the possibilities are endless):

Greens:
Romain
Spinach
green leaf
etc

Protein:
diced cooked chicken breast
hard boiled eggs, chopped
chopped ham
diced turkey
garbanzo beans
white beans
kidney beans
sauteed tofu


Fruit:
chopped apples
dried cranberries/Craisins
cubed pears
mandarin orange slices
halved red grapes

Crunch:
toasted almonds
cashews
diced celery
crispy chow mein noodles
crushed Ramen noodles

Dressing:
Kraft Asian Toasted Sesame
Brianna's Poppyseed dressing
Light Mayo with curry powder to taste
Ceasar
Vidalia sweet onion
HOME MADE

Extras:
shredded Parmesan cheese
shredded/ cubed Havarti or other white cheese
diced green onion

Wrap:
Tortillas
pitas
flavored wraps
flatbreads

Coconut oil...And Dekker eats salad!

I remembered to take a picture at the last minute- so sorry it's not the best, I had to do with what was left.

The outside night menue:
Sweet potatoes with mashed in coconut butter and a sprinkle of brown sugar.
Mesquite Salmon grilled on a Cedar plank (my favorite way to prepare salmon!)
Garden salad

Did you know that coconut oil is good for you?! I love those good fats and oils. Did you know you can use it in place of butter on sweet potatoes and its FABULOUS?!

I recently picked up some Vidalia Sweet Onion dressing from Costco. It's pretty dang tasty in wraps, cold pasta salads, as a dressing on sandwiches, and on salads. Seriously, you know it must be good when your four year old eats his serving of salad and then asks for a second helping! He also commented on the hard boiled eggs, which I don't always put in- so I was taking mental notes.

And do yourself a favor- find some mesquite seasoning, heavily sprinkle it on some fresh salmon, then grill it on a cedar plank. Even if you haven't liked fish in the past, you just might "mmm" and "ahhh" over it!

Sunday Dinner

I've realized I need to start posting pictures with my recipes. I always find recipes more interesting when there's a picture attached. With my mom being a food-stylist and all, you think I would have realized this from the get-go. So I will try to post more photos from now on.

Last night's dinner was a HUGE hit with my husband, not so much with my kids. They ate the Quinoa dish, and a few artichoke leaves, but weren't too fond of the stuffed mushrooms. Jake on the other hand thought he'd died and gone to heaven! You can't win them all I guess.

Last night's menu:

Steamed artichoke with balsamic dipping sauce or garlic butter dipping sauce
Quinoa with tomatoes and chickpeas ( http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Quinoa-with-Chickpeas-and-Tomatoes/Detail.aspx )
Stuffed mushrooms ( http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/mouth-watering-stuffed-mushrooms/Detail.aspx )

Ah Quinoa!

Quinoa- the versatile grain (like rice), easy to digest, a rare plant complete protein, good source of fiber, gluten free, and high in iron. Buy it! Eat it! Love it!

Pic-nic-friendly Salmon Quinoa salad

4 cups prepared quinoa and finely chopped carrots
(I threw quinoa and carrots in my rice maker with a little olive oil, sea salt and water)

3-4 handfuls Sauteed Spinach
(coat a pan with olive oil, sauté garlic for flavor then toss in spinach till "wilted")

1 large Cooked filet Salmon, flaked)
(I marinated mine in 1/2 c. pineapple juice, 2 tsp minced garlic, 1 tsp tsp soy sauce, 1/4 tsp ground ginger and then baked in foil 10 min each side)

Combine together and serve either warm, or refrigerate and serve cold. Tastes great either way! I packed this to the park one evening and everyone gobbled it up.

A "healthy cookie"

I wanted to make some Almond Butter cookies for our road trip this weekend. I scoured the internet and found some good ones- I combined a couple and came up with this recipe. They turned out really yummy!

Oatmeal Almond Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies (now THAT's a mouthful)
Preheat oven to 350*
Whisk 3 min:
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. coconut oil (at room temp)
1/2 c. Almond butter
1/2 c. cane sugar
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp molasses
Add:
1 egg
1/2 c. rolled oats
Sift together then add to wet mixture:
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. sea salt
Stir in:
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup regular chips or chunked dark chocolate
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (I used pecans)

Press into rounded balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake about 10 minutes. Let cool. Enjoy!

Seafood is a better choice than meat in my mind...

One day I came up with this concoction.( I'm open to suggestions on alterations to make it even better)

** Made this again last night, with some adaptations that I thought made it better- so I'm updating now** (Oct4)

Jaime's Coconut Shrimp Soup (over rice)

Saute:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
1/2 Tbs minced garlic
1-2 peeled and cubed sweet potatoes
1/4 tsp ground ginger
Add:
1 tsp green curry paste
1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp curry powder
1 can coconut milk
3 cups chicken/vegetable broth
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp sea salt
(let simmer till flavorful)
Last few minutes add:
peeled, tailed SHRIMP
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Pour over cooked rice. Yummy!

Bountiful Baskets = Produce co-op

The other best change I've made to my eating habits is getting involved with a produce co-op, which ensures I have a variety of produce in my home, at an affordable price. The more quantity and variety of fresh produce in your diet, the more health benefits you'll see. If you're like me though, I would go to the grocery store and see the price of produce, and unsure of what I'd make out of it, I ended up only buying the staples that I often used. When I heard about Bountiful Baskets, a local produce co-op, where for $15 a week I could get about $45 worth of produce I figured "why not"?! With this co-op I have to remember to get my order in on Monday if I want to pick up on Saturdays, I don't know exactly what will be in it until I pick it up, and I have to go pick it up, and occasionally go early to help distribute the goods. Even with those "inconveniences" I think it's worth it- in fact I LOVE IT! It's kinda like Christmas each week, finding out what's in my basket. And they usually try to throw in one unusual fruit or vegetable. I like it because it forces me to find ways of getting more fresh fruits and vegetable in my diet. And my whole family is learning to be open-minded to new things. Since I always have a fruit bowl- that's where my kids have learned to go for snacks. I end up searching the internet for new recipes to use vegetables and fruit that I would have not other wise purchased.

I know that in the year that I've been participating in Bountiful Baskets it has grown really fast. My even picks up a basket once in a while up in Washington. There are lots of other food co-ops around. Many of them offer local and organic produce as well. So I encourage everyone to look into it. You'll also be supporting smaller, more local, and more environmentally friendly farmers/growers!

I found this recipe on http://www.myrecipes.com/ When I'd gotten cauliflower and red-peppers in my weekly produce basket and was craving a creamy soup. I've made it at least three times now. It's delicious with some chunky bread for dipping.

Cauliflower and Red-Pepper Chowder

COURSE: Soups/Stews
Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
2/3 cup minced shallots (about 4 large)
1/2 cup sliced celery
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups water
6 cups finely chopped cauliflower florets (about 1 head)
2 cups finely chopped red bell pepper (about 2 medium)
1 cup finely chopped peeled red potato
1 bay leaf
1 cup 2% reduced-fat milk (can substitute with greek yogurt, kefir, or coconut milk)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons minced fresh or 1 tablespoon dried basil
5 tablespoons fat-free sour cream (optional)

Preparation
Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add shallots and celery; cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add broth and water; bring to a boil. Add cauliflower, bell pepper, potato, and bay leaf; return to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until potato is tender. Stir in milk and black pepper. Cool slightly; discard bay leaf.
Place 1 1/2 cups soup in a blender or food processor (I used an immersion blender and blended it all); process until smooth. Pour the pureed soup into a large bowl. Repeat the procedure with an additional 1 1/2 cups soup. Add the remaining soup to the pureed soup, and stir in basil. Return the soup to the pan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Spoon 2 cups soup into each of 5 bowls; top each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream.

Green Smoothie Recipe... and Why?

I tell people all the time about Green Smoothies. As far as I'm concerned, its the BEST change I've made in our family diet. After I explain the "Why?" of the green smoothies a lot of people ask for my recipe... Not so simple. I don't really follow a recipe- I kinda just throw stuff in depending on what I've got. I do have a standard one I make and like the most, and all others are usually an adaptation of it. That "recipe" goes something like this:

4 cubes of ice
1 cup of water
1/2 cup of carrot juice
1/2 cup of Acai Juice (Costco just started carrying Sambazon Acai juice and I LOVE it, but I've also used more carrot, or the other Costco concentrated juices like their Mango or other ones)
lots of spinach
1-2 Kale or collard leaves
1 fresh banana
1/2-1 cup mixed frozen fruit or whatever fresh fruit I have on hand. I like the mixed tropical blend at Costco better than the berries, because the berries leave seeds. Mangos and pears are my favorite fresh fruits. If you add strawberries you can leave the green parts on.

The way to keep them affordable is to buy all this stuff at Costco- the only thing you have to get somewhere else is the Kale or collards or other greens. Here's a video of "how to make one:" http://www.greensmoothiegirl.com/videos/videos-page-1/

So now for the WHY?

First things first:
How many of us can say we eat enough raw fruits an vegetables? Especially vegetables!? And if you are eating lots of vegetables they're usually baked, sauteed and steamed, or have come from a can or bottle, right? All those things take away from the powerful nutrition RAW fruits and veggies give us. I knew all this, but always thought I was just doing the best I could. I wasn't a salad hater- but getting my kids to eat them isn't easy. So when my neighbor told me they'd started drinking green smoothies I thought it sounded like a great idea. Then I mentioned it to my husband, who doesn't have much of an appetite in the mornings and he thought it was a great idea. He said smoothies was the one thing that sounded good in the mornings, but the ones he picked up at the local juice shops were always too sweet. And so we began experimenting. Jake and I would have one every morning, and the kids looked at us like we were crazy. That was the beginning.

And then:
We started to actually enjoy them. We never hated them- but they did taste "healthy" rather than yummy. But our bodies started really liking that powerful punch each morning. The kids started asking for a taste. When they stopped crinkling their noses and saying "gross" I would give them about a cup full too. If they drank it, great. If not- I didn't make a big deal about it. Jake and I immediately noticed we had more energy throughout the day. Not so much lag in the afternoon. We also found ourselves making better choices on the other stuff we ate. We didn't want to "ruin" our day by eating too much sugar or heavy foods after we'd started off on such a good foot.

Later I found about the green smoothie girl. I read her book. I couldn't switch to the RAW diet as she has, but I took bits and peices and couldn't argue with most of her points. Jake and I went on vacation. We didn't have green smoothies while we were gone. When we came back we were CRAVING them. Jake had gained 7-8 pounds, I'd gained about 5. We started doing smoothies for breakfast AND one with dinner- just to clean out our systems. And try to reach the quart a day that Robyn (the green smoothie girl) recommends. Within two weeks we'd both lost our vacation weight. Then we both lost about another 2 pounds. My four year old Dekker, who'd held out the most, would down them at dinner and ask for more.

Perhaps the most interesting thing to me, was the green smoothies made all other dietary changes easier. I really wanted to eat and be healthier. I made a concerted effort to cut out refined sugars for 4 days for myself. I started buying healthier snacks for my kids. My kids started asking for carrots, apples, pistachios and other such snacks instead of all the sugary stuff they used to eat. They even started eating more salads and vegetables at meals. Some of this I also attribute to the produce co-op Bountiful Baskets I'd been doing- which piled lots of fresh produce on my counter and in my fridge (post on this to come at another time) but I really noticed a general swing in EVERYONE's appetite from the not-so-healthy to the fresh yummy stuff.

If you search about the benefits of raw, organic produce you'll find lots and lots of benefits. For me, it was something that just made sense, wasn't too difficult to implement, and I found to have great value and impact for my family.

And no- I don't own an expensive Blend-tec or Vita-mix. I bought above average Kitchenaid- had to have the blade/bottom replaced once, and haven't had any issues since.

What I'm making tonight

When Jake is gone I usually make lasagna. He got really sick on the mission once eating lasagna, and hasn't really been able to stomach it since. The kids and I love it though, and I found a few vegetarian versions and combined/adapted them to my taste. You could even make it vegan by using crumbled tofu instead of the dairy parts!

I don't like my lasagna too cheesy/greesy, so you might want more cheese. Or if you don't like a lot of cheese, I've even made this without any ricotta/cottage cheese and just used alfredo sauce layered over vegetables instead.


Lasagna Primavera

*Serves 6-7

1 cup chopped carrots
2 cups diced zucchini
2 cups diced yellow crook-neck squash
2 cups chopped broccoli
1/2 cup diced onion
some chopped fresh spinach
2 cups ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese, or crumbled tofu)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2-3 cups mozzarella or other favorite cheese, shredded
1 cup Parmesan cheese
2 (24-ounce) jars pasta sauce (I like to use one marinera, one Alfredo) and I sometimes have some sauce left over.
12 no-boil lasagna noodles (I like the Barilla brand), or 12 regular lasagna noodles, boiled and drained

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all the chopped vegetables (carrots, broccoli, zucchini, squash, spinach) with 1/2 teaspoon salt and saute in a pan coated with olive oil till tender. Set aside.

Lightly grease a 9X13-inch pan. Spoon about 3/4 cup sauce onto the bottom of the pan and spread around. It will be a thin layer. Cover with four no-boil lasagna noodles, overlapping slightly. Spoon in 1/3 of the vegetables evenly. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta (or chosen substitute) over the vegetables then sprinkle with 1/3 of the mozzarella and 1/4 of the Parmesan cheese. Pour 1/3 of the remaining sauce over the cheese, lightly spreading it to the edges. Repeat the layers (noodles, vegetables, ricotta, mozzarella/parm, sauce) two more times, ending with the last of the sauce. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese over the top.

Cover the lasagna with a sheet of lightly greased foil and place the 9X13-inch pan on a large baking sheet lined with foil (this is in case the lasagna bubbles over the edge a bit as it bakes). Bake, covered, for 50 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes longer. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Our Basic Weekly Diet 2011... and a glimpse at my philosophy on eating.

This is what our weekly diet looks like these days:

Tuesdays and Thursdays are "no sugar" days.
Tuesdays and Sundays are "no meat" days.
All other days are called "you choose" days.

Breakfasts-
GREEN SMOOTHIES and oatmeal, oatmeal cereal, Cheerios Multi grain or other "healthy" cereal with rice/coconut/almond milk. Toast with peanut/almond butter and honey/jam. Occasionally eggs, breakfast burritos/wraps, whole wheat pancakes or WAFFLES*

Snacks-
I find most of these at Costco: Cliff's Zbars for kids, all natural fruit leathers, chocolate covered berries, pistachios (the kids quickly learned to open and eat them themselves- and love them), carrots and dip (ranch or hummus), chips and salsa, mandarin oranges, apples, bananas, pretzels, yogurt.

Lunches-
Peanut/almond butter and honey/jam/sliced banana sandwiches (whole wheat bread), quesadillas, refried bean and cheese burritos/quesadillas, nachos, tuna melts, simple pastas (whole wheat or spinach)*, leftover dinners, tomato soup and grilled cheese*, vegetarian chili*. Bagel or english muffin cheese pizzas.

I bought the vegan patties at Costco one time- didn't like them too much as burgers, as they tasted a lot more like egg rolls to me- but I love them with a little soy sauce wrapped in a fresh cooked tortilla for lunch.

One Sunday I threw together a skillet "hash" that became one of my favorites- I sauteed some onion and garlic in olive oil, threw in sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, some diced tomatoes and black beans with a little cilantro. mmmm. my mouth is watering!

Dinner-
GREEN SMOOTHIES and...
This is where I need to spend some time pulling together my recipes but as a general list with a few recipes I have handy or have REALLY liked...

* items above can be used for quick/easy ones, and/or for dinner I'll make them a little more "special" in the recipe/effort/ingredients I use

When I started trying to cook more meatless meals I started by thinking about what I already like to eat, and seeing if I could adapt it- it's surprising what you can do. I also found it interesting that foreign dishes are often easiest to adapt. It's us Americans that get caught up in making meat the star of the show.

There are lots of mexican meals that are vegetarian with just beans instead of meat i.e. burritos, enchiladas, tostadas, salads, nachos

There are also lots of italian dishes that are vegetarian- lasagna, risotto, all kinds of vegetables and noodles/pastas different kinds of sauces

Tons of asian dishes can also very easily be made vegetarian- Quinoa is high in protein and can be used instead of rice in many of these to make sure you're still getting lots of protein, I also use mostly brown or wild rice instead of just white rice in many of these. There are lots of variations on stir fry, sweet n sour, teriyaki etc. Indian/thai dishes are some of my favorites because you can use sweet potatoes (which I've fallen in love with), carrotts, sweet peas, other potatoes in all the different curries, soups, etc.

Seafood-
I also cook seafood once or twice a week. I have no major qualms with seafood, so by adding this to our menu it's an easy way to move toward my goal of only eating meat in 5-10% of our diet. I love salmon, mild white fish and shrimp, so it's easy for me. I know some people have an aversion to these though.

Don't stress the rest-
The rest of the time I don't stress too much about meats and sugars. I try to sensible of course, but when we are out with friends and family or celebrating a special occasion I don't want to be constantly saying "NO! We can't/won't eat that!" I still believe that food and dining is often a social and cultural experience and I don't want to be so strict that we can't enjoy those things. I have noticed though, that even in those social or cultural events there are healthier options- and when available I try to choose those.

When we eat out- if I'm craving a steak or burger- I eat it. But I often use this opportunity to explore other no-meat or healthy options. Did you know that I don't even miss the meat in a Costa Vida or Cafe Rio salad? Cafe Paesan, Malawi's Pizza, and other Italian places all have fabulous no-meat dishes. And I pretty much LOVE Rubios fish or salmon tacos. Oooh and Zupas has some great soups and salads. SEE?! There are LOTS of options out there.

"You choose" days spent at home with family I usually try to still reduce the amount of meat we eat. A little meat can go a long way. I try to find recipes that use less meat. By using meat in salads, wraps, casseroles and soups you can often get by with 1-2 servings of meat for a dish that feeds 4-6 people. Bacon and sausage, (though some of the most unhealthy meats) pack powerful punch in flavor and can go a long way! Try baked potatoes with crumbled bacon (and cheese and/or sour cream).

Sweets and treats-
I personally no longer like cheap pre-packaged or processed treats. Seriously. I think Junior Mints and peanut M&Ms with popcorn are the exceptions. I do however like home-made baked/made goods in moderation. I like high-quality dark chocolates. Costco's chocolate covered Acai Berries are my "stash" for a sweet fix. Dekker still loves his sugar in the form of suckers and candies. I let him choose that. Everyone else seems to like the home made more "real" stuff better now too.

I allow honey, maple syrup, and agave even on no sugar days for recipes, and even on PB&Js. I figure the more raw form- the less I need to stress over it.