Day 23 - and 22, oops!

Oops - the neglect's kicked in already.  Just to the blog though, the challenge is still going strong!  Yesterday Mr C made a very tasty curried bubble and squeak but I must have been hungry from Zumba as I'd eaten it before I even thought about getting the camera out.  I'm enjoying doing two different Zumba classes - it's amazing the difference between different instructors really.
Tonight we had a slight change of plans so ended up defrosting the rest of the veg goulash from early in the blog.  Apart from my two night lasagnes I think that's the first repeat meal I've done so far which is pretty good going.

Day 21 - deja vu!

I hadn't planned on doing a weekend lasagne again but having fish fingers last night meant we had spinach leftover from what we'd originally planned so spinach and ricotta lasagne it is:

I changed the recipe slightly so there was a bit less sauce than when I've made it before which I think worked okay. Mr C preferred the kale and mushroom version but this one does have a fair old whack of gorgonzola in it so if you're not into blue cheese it's not great.  I do love blue cheese, but that's partly why I need to lose weight so I'll not be making this too often!

Day 20 - Friday's fish night

Nope - we didn't cave in and get a chippy tea, we had fish fingers, chips and peas.  I don't think it really merits a picture so here's a photo of Herman, the German friendship cake!

It's a tasty cake but for the 10 days of stirring and feeding it I think I'd rather just make a Danish apple cake.  I suspect Mr C would be happy with that decision!

Day 19 - Viva Tapas

Two different tapas dishes tonight- Espinacas con Garbanzos y Cebollas (spinach with chickpeas and onion) and Parillada de Calabazas (courgette, squash and goats cheese).  It was a bit intense pulling it all together at the same time  - I definitely couldn't be a professional chef, but it was tasty, and pretty nutritious.  I think the courgette and squash would be nice mixed into couscous for a less stressful dinner!

Day 18 - c/o groupon

Before Christmas, and before the challenge, we bought a groupon for a two course meal with wine at a local restaurant, and it expires at the end of the month so we 'had to' use it.  I did intend to stick to the no meat thing except I stupidly forgot cock a leekie soup has chicken in it - oops!  Anyway, it was all very tasty and if anyone's interested the Taychreggan is as good as ever!

Day 17 - square omelette

Who'd have thought you could make omelette in the oven?  This is a roasted allotment veg fritatta which has parsnips, leek and beetroot from the allotment as well as a bit of squash and carrot. The white things are salsify, also from the allotment but they would have been a bit lost in with the other veg I think.  This has been one of my favourites so far - I can definitely see me doing this recipe after the challenge is complete and we're back to eating meat.

Day 15 - weigh in day 2

The good news today is that I've lost 1kg this week so I'm still on target. Tonight we finished off last night's lasagne, with home made oven chips and peas.
On an unrelated note, we went to see the Artist today and very enjoyable it was too! I'm sure the fact that it's a) black and white and b) will put some people off, hence why we had to go to Dundee Contemporary Arts to see it - it wasn't showing at Cineworld, but it's nice to see something different every so often.

Day 14 - 2 weeks already!

This is a kale and mushroom lasagne.  Quite a lot of prep involved, though admittedlly most of that was cleaning and chopping the kale from my allotment.  If you bought it in a bag from a supermarket it would be a lot quicker! The good news is there's half left for tomorrow for after the pictures.

Day 13 - carbonara with no bacon?

This was a good idea in principle but if you are going to use courgettes in place of bacon you need to get some serious flavour into them - I'm thinking garlic and herbs but a bit of chilli might even work. 

Day 12 - dinner a la student

Yes folks - it's tuna, pasta, random veg and a bit of cheese. I weighed 8 stone when I used to eat this on a regular basis so it's got to help!  Also, pretty quick to put together when you've been at work till 8pm.

Day 11 - super soup

This is the leftovers from the Mexican tomato and bean soup Mr C made tonight, which is looking like tomorrow's lunch to me!  It'll save me defrosting the sweet potato soup I'd planned on having for lunch tomorrow.  Only problem with taking soup to work for lunch just now?  Everyone else having the same idea so you can't get near the microwave!  I may have to take it in a flask....

Day 10 - into double figures already?

Well, Mr C's been paying enough attention to this to critique the format, so in theory it should now be easier to read without the transluscent background!
Tonight's dinner was spinach spouffle or to put it differently, fluffy macaroni cheese with spinach in it. 

I do have a bone to pick with Mr FW though - he describes this as a one pot meal, so how come this is the amount of washing up it generates.....? Answers on a postcard.....

 

Day 9 - um, same as Friday!

Went to a different zumba class tonight - a much smaller class than the one on Friday so a totally different experience but it felt like I was working harder so it's all good! No photo tonight as I was too hungry from zumba (!) but it was the rest of Friday's chilli which had matured well! 
Incidentally, if anyone's considering a veggie challenge I would recommend the River Cottage veg book - it's pretty much all I've used so far.  For the sake of fairness I will of course report back on any other good recipe sources I come across!

Day 8 - weigh in day

Well, part of this challenge is to lose a bit of weight so I guess I should update my progress on that front!  It's a little hard to give an exact figure this week as we've bought a new set of scales but I *think* I've lost 2kg - that seems a lot though so might not be right.  I'll see how I go next week!
Lunch today was cheesy leeks on toasted home made soda bread which was nicer than I expected to be honest!
Dinner was a Meal in a Bag from our slightly posh local greengrocer  http://www.clementineofbroughtyferry.com/ - Veggie goulash with caraway and herb dumplings, and as I type this I realise I forgot about the dollop of sour cream I was supposed to add to it - oops!

 

Day 7 - made it through the first week!

Beetroot and cheddar pizza tastes better than it looks! Thoroughly enjoyed the 'posh' fishfinger butty at lunchtime too - normal fishfingers but served in ciabatta. Bought some frozen berries today to go with porridge since I'm not sure maple syrup is really the healthy start to the day I'm aiming for.  It's just crossed my mind that this meat free lark means that I spent a third of today's grocery budget in the greengrocers - we'll definitely be getting 5 a day this week...

Day 6 - post zumba chilli

Mr C's come over all competitive since discovering he's also being blogged! This is a mixed bean chilli with homemade guacamole.  Just the thing after an hour of Friday night zumba!  Think it took him a bit longer to put together than he would have liked, but it was worth waiting for, and there's leftovers for another night too.

Day 5 - Chachouka: bless you!

This is a spicy tomato and pepper stew with hot smoked paprika and cumin, so the perfect cure for the chorizo cravings I fully expect before the challenge is done!  The recipe says serves 4 but I'm guessing that would be either a part of a spread or with loads of bread - as it is it was just right for the two of us. Loving how shiny the eggs are!

Day 4 - double curry

Today is the first day that I've deviated from the usual butty for lunch, with a bowl of spicy sweet potato soup - very spicy indeed as it turned out! It's the first recipe I've done from my new Hugh FW veg cook book, and if the rest are as tasty as this I would say it was definitely a worthwhile purchase.  Amazingly it kept me full right through zumba until we got to having the rest of yesterday's curry with naan for tea.  
It was my first zumba class for over a month so I was pretty knackered by the time I was done but (hurrah!) I reckon I must have burned at least 350 calories leaving me free to enjoy the naan without any guilt!

Day 3 - First curry of many, possibly

When we were in York for New Year we visited the brilliant Rafi's Spicebox and bought this mix sabzi-shakh-masala
 I cooked up a pot of 1kg of 'various vegetables', including cauliflower, brocolli, carrot, mushroom and sweet potato which will do two night's teas.  It also means I reckon I've had 7 of my 5 a day as a result!
If you're ever in York or Sudbury they're well worth a visit - if you like curry that is!
 

Day 2 - Mr C's first turn

We take turns to make dinner 'round ours' so today was Mr C's first shot at the challenge, and he stepped up to the plate with a sweet and sour veg stir fry.  Admittedly with a lot of help from Mr Asda but it was quick and tasty and that's what you want really.  I'm hoping a definite benefit of the challenge will be interesting lunches - I really want to get out of the sandwich,yoghurt and a piece of fruit rut I've been in for years.  On that note, today's lunch was a sandwich, yoghurt and an orange - oops!  The sandwich filling was unusual though - a garlic and rosemary broad bean puree.  Delicious but stinky!

Day 1 - No going back now

So I've been thinking about eating less meat for a while now.  Not really for any ethical reasons - I'm very comfortable eating organic or free range meat, but partly for health reasons, and partly as a culinary challenge.  I like to to think I'm a reasonably competent home cook, but then I don't think it's that difficult making a tasty meal with a bit of spicy chorizo, a sprinkling of salty lardons, and who doesn't like a lovely juicy steak? So having twisted hubby's arm a bit, well a lot to be honest, I've decided the best way to do it is to go all Hugh FW and go totally meat free for a month, give or take a few days.  If I lose a bit of weight in the process that's great, if not, I'm sure I'll be a bit healthier for it all the same.  What better way to track my progress than a self indulgent blog?

So today I started cautiously with meals I've done before. Porridge for breakfast, Shop bought soup for lunch and dinner was a cheese and leek stuffed jacket potato with ranch salad.  It's gone 10pm and I'm not starving, though I have had a few Christmas chocolates.  Anyway - here's to an exciting month of eating!