Two Weeks of Whole Foods

I'm still struggling with things to write about. I've been wanting to put together a post of the dinners Jerry and I have been eating lately but I was hoping to wait until I have more photos. I'm starting to forget what some of these recipes even were, so I'll just go ahead and post them.

The main goal (for our two-week challenge) was to eat more vegetables, but it kind of turned into eating mainly whole foods. Both of us really loved doing this! It was interesting to see how much better we felt--physically and mentally--when eating foods our bodies like. And that was only two weeks!

I made most of the recipes from the How Not To Die and How Not To Diet cookbooks. I don't think there were any that we didn't like; both of those cookbooks have been awesome. Keep in mind that I am not-even-a-little-bit-good at food photography, so my pictures aren't exactly appealing, hahaha. There were actually a few that I'm not even going to post because it will make people never want to try things like black lentils and black bean soup!

Anyway, here are some of the ways we got more vegetables in...

Sweet Potato Waffles (I discovered that I use far less syrup if I put it in a little ramekin and dip the waffles as I eat rather than pouring it on top; I only used half of what is pictured)

I didn't mean to include this, but I definitely ate all of these Asian pears before they went bad! Haha. 

Sweet Potato Taco Bowl (brown rice, sweet potatoes, corn, black beans, seasoning)

Millet "Risotto" with mushrooms, spinach, and white beans (we didn't like this dish only because we didn't like the flavor of the millet itself; this would be good with a different grain)

I forget what this was called--I think it was some sort of stew--but it had barley, mushrooms, peppers, onions, carrots, and chickpeas.

Lentil & Quinoa Chili

I actually forget what this was, but it reminded me of a broccoli/cheese/rice casserole. It was good!

Sweet Potato Shawarma Bowl (quinoa with seasoned sweet potatoes and cauliflower; topped with lettuce, onions, cucumbers, and a homemade tahini dressing.

Stew with butternut squash, red beans, corn, tomatoes, peppers, and onions. There is quinoa under there, too ;)

This was kind of our "junk food" dinner--tofu in a sriracha marinade and baked, along with baby potatoes with "chili cheese" seasoning. 

Again, I forget what this was called. But it had sweet potatoes, cauliflower, peas, peppers, and raisins (it sounded odd to me with the raisins, which is why I picked it from the book). I don't remember what grain was under there, but it was probably brown rice. This was really good!

Well, that was the start of Jerry's and my year of being grown-ups and eating our veggies. I had really hoped that this challenge would help Jerry to like vegetables more, and he discovered that he does like sweet potatoes, mushrooms, and cauliflower (when prepared certain ways). He even admitted the cucumber in the shawarma bowls actually worked well. He has never liked cucumbers because he said that they overpower everything else and all you can taste is cucumber. I happen to love them. I think I'll make some hummus today and have cucumbers and hummus for a snack--that sounds delicious.

Now, I'm going to write up a meal plan for the week. I used to hate meal planning, but this vegetable challenge kind of made me excited to meal plan again. I'm going to try kale again this week--it's been YEARS since I tried it--and I'm hoping I'll like it better this time around. When cooking with greens, I usually go for spinach or collard greens. Yesterday, Jerry and I decided to do another two weeks of eating (mostly) whole foods. We both felt gross from eating poorly after eating really well for two weeks.

Anyway, if you have a favorite recipe that uses lots of vegetables, please share!