Lent - Moral support may be needed ;)

karcher

NewShadow wrote: »

As a veggie I could have eggs, mushrooms, toast or hash brown, beans or tomatoes. Yet again just not having the meat - nothing exciting to replace it. Just less for the same money.

Lunch - I hadn't really planned anything and didn't fancy anything in my locker (soups mostly) - so I decided to indulge in something from the canteen. Normally a nice choice of good cheap (subsidised) food.

Today - Friday (fish day) choice of battered or breaded fish, scampi, or the chef's special - which today was lamb curry.

I really, really wanted the curry. The chef makes fantastic curries. But I couldn't. I wanted to, but I couldn't - and that sucked.

Veggie option: mac and cheese - Read overcooked pasta in a thick white sauce and no hint of cheese. Without the little pot of crispy bacon bits that comes with it.

.

Standard, sub-standard, veggie option in canteens etc are the bane of many veggies life .... if the chef makes an excellent meat curry then why not do a veggie curry too?

Most traditional curries are veggie anyway and are as flavoursome, tasty and filling as a meat one.

Not much time, thought or energy has gone into making that mac cheese and it's to the caterers detriment imho.

Cappella

My daughter always takes her own lunch NewShadow, even though they also have a good cafe at work for non veggies. She says even though it's subsidised it's NOT free and why should she pay good money for bad veggie food? You're doing well though. Don't give up because of bad catering.

Pleased to say I've not snacked between meals for 3 days now not even fruit - though have had to move the bowl of grapes from next to the phone:o.
Am still struggling to find positives in things, but have made minuscule progress so that's a start.

katkin

Catching up today!

I've managed to eat so much veg n fruit this week I've put 2lbs on:eek: Too much extra dairy and cheese have been added in to veggie meals I reckon and my portions have been huge

I've also eaten a breakfast which I normally don't do, and snacks and supper to finish up all the gorgeous fresh stuff I have in. Oh dear

The frozen veg from farm foods make a lovely soup, so easy and cheap so that's been a positive trial.

My innards have settle down too :rotfl:

Work in progress! Best of luck everyone, you all seem to be enjoying the challenge which is half the battle :T

NewShadow

VfM4meplse wrote: »

Opening the plastic bag helps, piercing with a knife will do.

Opening but leaving in the bag?

I'll try - carrots are only 40p at coop atm, so worth the experiment.

I've tried:

- leaving in bag on counter as displayed instore
- taking out of bag and leaving on counter
- taking out of bag, leaving on counter and wrapping loosely in a tea-towel
- leaving in bag in fridge
- taking out of bag in fridge
- leaving in bag in cupboard
- taking out of bag in cupboard

In the fridge out of the bag they'll be bendy but cookable after 5 days - No matter what I try they don't keep the week for crisp carrot sticks.

Onions are kept in a cotton bag on the back of a door, potatoes, swede, parsnip and squash keep for ages in a cool dark cupboard.

Don't know why carrots are so different from all other root veg?

.

splishsplash

Catching up also...
Day 2/44 I had leftover dahl, rice, carrots and cabbage for lunch, dinner was sugar snap peas on the run.

Day 3/44 was salad for lunch, dinner last night was meant to be stuffed mushrooms but I was too hungry to wait so I had a large Waldorf salad instead.

FWIW: I take carrots out of the plastic bags and store on kitchen roll in the salad drawer of the fridge.

Is it possible you're storing your carrots close to gas-releasing veg or fruit? If you're keeping any of these next to your carrots, it will speed up their decay rates - a bit like keeping onions next to potatoes will cause the potatoes to sprout quicker.

oldtractor

maryb wrote: »

Old tractor that sounds good. Do you have a link to a recipe for spicy chickpeas?

sorry no I just make things up as I go along. maybe simmering the chick peas in a little tinned tomato and adding herbs or spices or garlic, whatever you like. or dry frying them with whatever spice you like.

NewShadow

DAY 4/44

Don't you just love lazy weekends

Breakfast was the normal porridge - diced apple and cinnamon today.

Lunch was another omelette - much better with the addition of some salt.

Then food became a little more... deconstructed. Snacking here and there on stuff as I've been making it.

Made a batch of - well, cross between onion bhaji and falafels - half with onion, chickpea and spice; Half diced veg, chickpea and little bits of cheese. They're baked, cool and in the fridge for grab and go in the week.

I've also made up a batch of curry sauce (tikka style) and plan on picking up some paneer tomorrow for a curry which'll use more of the mushrooms from Wednesday and let me use some peppers/spinach from the freezer.

Toying with the idea of making a few bean burgers tomorrow for the freezer - quick and tasty seems to be a difficulty I'm having when thinking meat free.

I've got catered events two days next week and I'm taking dad for dinner on Friday been scoping out menus for places to go and have found a promising option that I think he'll like.

Planning may be the key to success...

No pictures today - kitchen's a tip :eek:

NewShadow

DAY 5/44

Today was actually a really great day - woke late, had omelette for breakfast, veg and lentil soup for lunch, and had ginger/soy noodles with garlicy mushrooms and 'falafel bhajis' for dinner (plate shot below) - was filling AND tasty .

Was relatively productive - in that I put the washing on but haven't put it out, read a book and ate food. Not bad for a Sunday.

I did kinda miss my usual roast dinner but have a plan for a bean burger type thing for next week.

Tomorrow will be cheese and pickle toasties for lunch - I bought a pack of toaster bags and want to try them out - and possibly a curry for dinner.

I couldn't find paneer, so bought halloumi and wondered if anyone had tried it as a sub in a curry?

NewShadow

DAY 6/44

This week definitely seems to be turning out to be an indian week.

BN squash and cottage cheese omelette for breakfast, Cheese and pickle toastie with some lovely honey oat bread and baby tomatoes for lunch (the toast pockets worked great) and a combo of vegi curry and bombay potatoes with the last of the faux-falafel for dindins.

I'll never be a professional food photographer, but you'll have to take my word it tasted great.


Tomorrow I'm out of the house 6am till 7, and get fed lunch.

Not sure what the plan's going to be for dinner, but I've got the other half of my omelette for breaky on the go.

It's gonna be a long day... I feel there may be biscuits involved at some point.

NewShadow

DAY 7/44

Okay. Long day. Feet hurting - and yet again incredibly unimpressed with the buffet offerings.

Skipped breakfast as I had to be up and out for 6.

Lunch was 2 creame eggs, a penguin bar, and a slab of (what I think was) badly defrosted cheesecake with lots and lots of coffee. The only other vegetarian possibilities were white bread sliced cheese sarnies and fruit.

I don't get it - when I cater an event 50% of the options are veggie or vegan. The whole buffet was ham, beef, prawn, tuna and cheese sarnies. Mini (beef) burgers, fishcakes, chicken skewers, fruit skewers and the aforementioned dodgy cheesecake. Even meat eaters are omnivores and appreciate some variety. This was a high profile - very expensive - event and vegans could have eaten the fruit! I did ask if there was provision for special diets and I was kindly shown the fruit sticks and cheese butties.

*mad*

But... moving swiftly on.

Dinner was a combo of quickly roasted veggies, leftover curry from yesterday, and some microwaved fried rice - all neatly presented on a plate rather than my usual bowl - and with an off camera side order of the remaining BN squash omelette that I'd not eaten for brekkie.

Now I need a hot bath and sleep - ready to do it all again tomorrow.

Roll on weekend!