#FoodForThought: The Adventures of Fanny and Olive (whoops)
<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Fanny. No really - that is her actual name. She is a massive massive massive foodie, and would like to share with you all the adventures on all of the things she puts in her mouth. Wait, no - not like that ... I mean ... well, you know what I mean. Aw shucks, just hit it already Fanny ...</editorsnote>
#TalkNerdyToMeLover's Fanny Slater
so let's be realistic.
you can't expect everyone else to eat exactly the same way you do. every person has different likes, dislikes, dietary guidelines, health restrictions, taste preferences, etc. which is why when my boyfriend told me today that he's planning on making a major shift in his diet...my obvious first reaction was:
"PLEASE don't stop eating anything that we split like cheese fries or ice cream."
luckily, he's not introducing any changes that are TOO drastic (like exporting beer or cereal from his life), but he did decide to cut back pretty severely on his intake of animal protein. after watching a documentary that sparked his curiosity, he realized that the health benefits could be extremely beneficial for him in the long run. coming from a family with a dad who only sees red meat when he takes me through a mcdonald's drive-thru, i completely understand the idea of making that kind of healthy change. he plans on cutting back the animal protein by about 50%, which i think is a very realistic goal for someone who loves cheeseburgers and chicken biscuits from bojangles. our conversation reminded me that without even realizing it, i had recently developed some vegetarian recipes. i may not know the first thing about tofu, but i make a mean roasted beet and goat cheese salad.
it then occurred to me that some of you out there reading this might also be veg-friendly! although i'm sure you enjoy my hilarious anecdotes about how only using half a slice of bacon is healthy--i wanted to share some of these accidentally vegetarian--or whoopsetarian--recipes with you. because my thoughts can occasionally be a little scattered (what?! me? never. okay, sometimes. it depends on what noises are going on in the background. a simple horn honk can throw off my entire train of thought)...
what were we talking about again?
oh right. i decided to organize these recipes by meal to make them easier to present to you. so here you have it. your dishes for the day--breakfast, lunch, and dinner--whoopsetarian style a la fanny:
breakfast:
greek yogurt parfait with dried fruit, fresh berries, and personalized granola. greek yogurt not only contains about twice as much protein as regular yogurt, but it's creamier and tangier than the alternative. the higher amount of protein will keep you fuller longer, and the creaminess will trick you into thinking you're eating dessert. fresh berries are always a go-to for me. they add bulk without a lot of calories and are a great sweetener for any breakfast item. instead of buying three different kinds of fruit at $3.99 each--look for the mixed berry containers in your local grocery store. you can get a nice mixture of three different kinds for under five dollars. i'm a big promoter of any type of granola--but i love to buy one generic kind and then add my own ingredients to it. for example, the granola pictured here is the pumpkin flax granola from whole foods. to personalize it--i added currants, raisins, cinnamon, and toasted sunflower seeds. now it's fanny granola!
lunch:
grilled vegetables can be a great way to bulk up a meal, but i think that all depends on what they're paired with. in this dish--the grilled eggplant is obviously the star with it's meaty charred flavors. i love the idea of pairing a light salad with this because you feel like you have an entree with a side, as opposed to just a big salad with vegetables. the highlight of this dish for me is the goat cheese because the creaminess pairs perfectly with the earthy eggplant. the balsamic reduction was a last minute idea for this dish, but i would absolutely recommend it. the tangy goat cheese needs something sweet to play off of and the syrupy balsamic is the perfect companion. the reduction was simply 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar and 1/4 cup agave (or honey) boiled down until the consistency was thick. the dressing on the salad was a light simple combination of lemon juice, dijon mustard, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
dinner:
this recipe is almost too good to be true. if all vegetarian recipes tasted like spinach artichoke dip--i would gladly cut hot dogs out of my diet. okay, i take that back. but this dish definitely didn't make me feel like a needed a late-night wendy's run afterwards. the inspiration for these stuffed mushrooms came from pinterest, but once i saw the recipe--i decided to enhance it with my own flavors. preparing the mushroom is as easy as scraping out the gills, rubbing it with olive oil, salt, and pepper and baking it at 425 until tender. the stuffing mixture was a combination of marinated artichokes, wilted spinach, light garden veggie cream cheese, fontina cheese, roasted garlic, and fresh thyme. i topped these with a mixture of panko breadcrumbs, parmesan, fresh parsley, paprika, and some diced tomatoes for color. one mushroom was plenty for me and because it was such a soft, creamy dish--i served it with a fresh, lemony homemade caesar salad for some crunch. if you're used to caesar salads being heavy--then click here for my lighter, made-from-scratch alternative!
#nerdsunite
click here to check out more from Fanny! (heheheeheh her name is Fanny)