Four days this week I went meatless. I prepared vegetarian meals. That is right, the four days. It was not as hard as I thought it would be. I knew that whatever I made had to taste good. I figured as long as it tasted good, I could eat it and maybe just maybe not miss the meat. I did this because one of my co-workers is vegetarian and it was my turn to make meals for the group. I thought it would be fun to broaden my horizons and culinary expertise to do this. Plus I am certain there are many health benefits gained by doing this. Maybe a week isn’t long enough to reap them, but it is a start.

Day #2

Lunch consisted of a high protein black bean and corn summer salad. I used Israeli couscous instead of the quick just add water one suggested in the

black bean and corn salad
black bean and corn salad

recipe. I had never cooked Israeli couscous so I wanted to experiment. And no, I do not know if it comes from Israel. You can google that on your own. The consistency is very creamy. My co-worker from Egypt said she ate it for breakfast with milk and sugar. Good to know. Again I used a bullion cube instead of broth. I left out the onions and used frozen corn instead of canned. I prefer frozen veggies, but will use canned beans. I don’t understand my logic, but it is what it is.  I tossed it with my own honey vinaigrette. The corn provided nice contrast to the black bean. I would definitely make this one again. It would even be a great side dish at a cookout.

Not my picture, but this is how it looks
Not my picture, but this is how the soup looks

 

Dinner was a take on Rachael Ray’s pumpkin and tomato soup with black beans. I use half and half instead of the cream and also add smoked turkey sausage. I made it without the sausage for my co-worker so I guess technically I was not meatless today. Oh well. This soup takes about 15 minutes to make and it is one of my all time favorites.

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