Singing for a smaller me

Meatless Monday Re-cap 3/22/10

I joined in on the Meatless Monday Movement at the start of the New Year in an effort to eat less meat and get healthier. One of the things I liked most was the chance to be creative with foods. True, it's still pretty dull most of the time since I eat the same basic things the six other days of the week, but I also take the opportunity to recreate some of my favorite dishes featuring vegetables. And the hunt is always on for new and interesting recipes.

Having been a vegetarian in the past, the flexitarian experience is very freeing. Truth be told, I probably eat 75 - 80% vegetarian during the week, but enjoy the ability to eat a hamburger if that's what I really want. That's the thing about flexitarianism - none of the vegetarian guilt for wanting a piece of chicken or a little bit of pepperoni on your pizza.

On a side note: How crazy is it that my iPhone can spell Flexitarian? Yep, I've typed it into my phone that many times!! I'm amused.

The past month or so of Meatless Mondays were pretty boring and I've used boxed food to stick with it, hence the lack of discussion about my Meatless adventures. Yesterday, though, I felt that familiar itch: the desire to find a recipe or three and try them out. With a bag of sweet potatos in the fridge, I had my search criteria in hand. I didn't find exactly what I wanted in a recipe, but combined several others to come up with this week's offering:

Vegetarian Chili with Sweet Potatos

Ingredients:
1 Package Morningstar Farms Meal Starter Recipe Crumbles
1 package Trader Joe's Mirepoix (14.5 oz)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp cayenne (optional)
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatos, juice included
1 lb cubed sweet potatos
1 (20 oz) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Spray a large pot with vegetable oil cooking spray and heat recipe crumbles over medium heat.


2. Once heated through (approx. three minutes), add mirepoix, garlic, chili powder, oregano, cumin and cayenne and cook for two - three minutes.


3. Add diced tomatos, sweet potatos, kidney beans, and vegetable broth. Add up to one cup water if necessary to cover sweet potatos. Bring to a boil, stirring often.


4. Add salt and pepper if necessary.


5. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes or until potatos are soft, stirring occasionally.


6. Enjoy!

Makes Eight Servings.

Nutrition: Calories: 241, Total Fat: 3g, Sodium: 597mg, Total Carbs: 39.7g, Dietary Fiber: 10.4g, Protein: 14.5g. POINTS Value: 4.

Oh. My. God. The smell of this cooking in the kitchen was a-ma-zing, and my mouth was watering from the time the spices entered the pot to the time it finished simmering. Taste review: Wow. Soooo good. Super happy with this one. And, yeah, plenty of leftovers for lunch. W00t!