Super Fast Fajita Hash Browns

I used to spend a lot of time preparing elaborate plant based meals for my family. I would wake up very early in the morning, bright eyed and bushy tailed, and head straight for the kitchen. I was so excited by this new way of eating that nothing could stop me from experimenting and it was all so very, very intoxicating.

Then I would get home from work and get right back into my Vegan cooking. It seemed I was tireless, and this went on for many years.

People used to ask me two things:

(1) How do you do it all?

and

(2) Can you tell me some ideas for oil-free Vegan meals that are easy and fast?

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Another morning after...

Still tired after my very short night last night.  Happily it looks like last night's deployment went well so it shouldn't need redoing any time soon. 
I crawled out of bed this morning with so little energy that even with the extra time that comes from not having to drive to work there was no way I was doing anything more energetic than making & drinking several cups of coffee.  I made the mistake of telling myself that I would train either at lunchtime or after work, and by 10 am I was well into the reasons not to bother.  It's just as well that in my last post I mentioned feeling I was on a roll - when I remembered that at lunchtime it pushed me into training to avoid the embarrassment of once again bragging right before failing big time. So I trained during my lunch break, and though I wasn't really feeling it, I am glad I put in the effort. 
Food wise I did alright today although I did have not one but TWO cans of diet soda.  I'm all out of herbal tea at home and was so sick of water...  Ah well,  if that were the worst that I ever did I'd still be slim...  I still didn't drink any booze though,  and resisted all temptations sweet in flavour. So I'm counting this as a successful day too...  Moderately at least. 
Now I'm about to fall asleep mid post so I'll love you and leave you...

Breakfast: lamb & cumin burger acting as a base for poached egg
Lunch: cold meat & salad 
Dinner: 'mixed grill'  - liver,  kidney,  rump steak & homemade sausage with green beans,  caramelized red onion & cauliflower
Snacks: minted pea soup

As days go, Wednesday dragged...

700 years after I arrived at work I looked at the clock and it was 10:46. I nearly embarrassed myself by screaming my head off and running around in circles like a headless chicken... This was only made worse by the knowledge that I was due to work overtime again at 10pm...
Enough moaning anyway.  I did train in the morning,  but didn't manage a proper walk.  I feel like I'm on the verge of claiming to be on a roll with the training and given the sudden deterioration in the weather I'm very happy not to be relying on walking as my sole form of exercise or I'd be really frustrated.
I finally fell into bed knackered at 11:30 last night, which is why I didn't get around to posting yesterday, only to wake up at 5 this morning...  So still knackered. I'm working from home today thankfully and two strong coffees have not yet been enough.  Time for another one...

Happy to say that even with the frustration and the knackeredness and the exhaustion I didn�t fall off any wagons� Food was good, exercise was good, and no booze.

Breakfast:scrambled eggs with defrosted leftover cod wrapped in pancetta (chopped up and added to the beaten eggs so they reheated as the eggs cooked)
Lunch: minted pea soup
Dinner: grilled chicken thighs with grilled vegetables
Snacks: almonds & brazil nuts

Today was definitely up and down...

This morning I did train again, and then spent the early part of the day feeling fairly cheerful, despite the cold wet weather and having to drive to work through patchy fog that was quite heavy in places. At lunchtime I had to go to the post office and of course it was raining quite persistently by then,  making it no fun at all, preventing me from having a proper walk, and boom! I was instantly miserable.  Later again and I was cheerful and productive (in the kitchen,  not the office obviously).  I guess that's what I get for saying yesterday that my mood was calmer...  
Still, no sweet foods (except fresh fruit)  or drinks,  no booze,  and a training session that left my legs feeling quite rubbery by the end :-)...  I call that a successful day 7!

Breakfast: homemade Pork, pear, sage & fennel sausage with leftover saut�ed veg from last night and one fried egg
Lunch: Cauliflower-pumpkin soup 
Dinner: massive salad with gammon & poached chicken 
Snacks: cashews & fruit (not dried) 

Speaking of Pie, Here's The World's Healthiest (and Tastiest) Apple Pie Recipe

I hope you enjoyed my last blog post about my plans for our 2014 Thanksgiving menu.

Thank you SO VERY MUCH to everyone who left comments with feedback about a few of the recipes that I haven't tried for myself yet. I will totally shift gears where I need to based on your input to make sure that I am not wasting my time, energy and money on the few new recipes that I had linked to that weren't a hit with your Thanksgiving crowd. If you haven't put in your two cents yet, and you've got experience with a WFPB Thanksgiving, please do!

I can tell you that if you are looking for a stellar Apple Pie recipe for Thanksgiving, that you can stop looking right now. I have make this recipe by Chef AJ countless times and it is phenomenal. I have served it at a number of pot lucks and it was very well received.

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Back to Basics - Days 4, 5 and 6

Food - success. Mostly. Stuck to the letter of my new rules but bent the meaning a bit by eating some dried fruit.  On Saturday night we got a takeaway kebab - I had a mixed lamb and chicken shish, no pitta and I made my own salad to accompany it, along with one of my salad dressings instead of the shop sauce. And no chips, even though M did order some. 
Booze - success.  I didn't find it as difficult as I thought even though having something (not a lot) at the weekend had become pretty much a habit. 
Exercise - successful I'd say.  I walked about 5 miles on Saturday, no training to give my back another day. Sunday was a rest day so I only walked a couple of miles. This morning I was back on the climber and my back felt fine.

I feel a lot more in control at the moment. My digestive system is definitely happier and calmer doing this and so is my mood.  I'm not really sleeping any better and I haven't weighed myself in over a week so I don't know how bad things got or if they're getting better.  Except in the ways listed above. Keep on keeping on I guess...

Food today:
Breakfast: 2 Anglo-Indian spiced sausage patties from a recipe by Madhur Jaffrey , with North Indian Cucumber salad from the same cookbook - Curry Easy. 

Lunch: homemade cream of Cauliflower soup (no actual cream) 
Dinner: Pork chop (grilled) with slowly saut�ed Red onion,  courgette & red pepper 
Snacks: cashews & pork rinds 

My Epic Whole Food Plant Based, Turkey-Free Thanksgiving Recipe Line Up

It's not too early for me to begin thinking about Thanksgiving, is it? I mean, it is November. And if I'm going to pull this off, I need a lot of advance planning.

I have been doing at least some of the cooking for Thanksgiving for enough years now that it has become a real highlight of my year. I keep notes on all my recipes so that it gets easier and better each year. I want to share all that I have learned with you, so that whether or not you are an old pro at this or completely new to a plant based diet, you can get some good ideas and inspiration.

So here's the Official 2014 Healthy Girl's Kitchen Turkey-Free Recipe Line Up:

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