Veggin' out...

My Dear Food Blog Readers,

I just noticed how long it had been since my last post, so you may think that the title of this blog post is referring to my slacking. However, that is far from the truth, and those of you that know me personally realize that a PhD and my cousin's wedding had a great deal to do with the lack of blogging.

But with all things taken care of now, we're back! And we're making a point. For the month of September MikeDub and I will become primarily herbivores. We intend to have "fishy Fridays," so we're not giving up meat entirely, but we'd like to make the effort in order to experience what it is like to be vegetarian, introduce (and dream up) a whole new lot of recipes, and find the tastiest, most vegetarian-friendly restaurants in Austin. We'd also noticed that many vegetarian restaurants here douse their meals in cheese. Hey, I'm not saying that cheese isn't delicious–I could pull the Cracker Barrel extra sharp out of the fridge right now and probably finish off the entire stick before finishing the post. Without crackers.

But I digress, and the point really is that vegetarians are often faced with unhealthy menu choices to "make up" for the meat and to fill you up. We intend to do our research, determine which nutrients are difficult to obtain or absorb when adopting a vegetarian diet (there goes the scientist in me), and dream up tasty, well-balanced recipes that will hopefully not leave us unsatisfied.

A couple meaty posts will probably slip in here; although I've not been blogging, that doesn't mean I don't take pictures of practically everything I eat still! I'll still want to do a mini-review of a newish item at Z-Tejas, and put up the recipe for MikeDub's slow-cooked thai pork tenderloin (which I'm about to go demolish the leftovers of before September hits). And if you're not so into the meatless cooking, don't stop reading as we'll post awesome pescatarian recipes for Fishy Fridays.

Some of the contents of Sunday's two hour shopping trip are pictured above. Of course on the right, we have the obligatory array of vegetables and fruits. I'd like to highlight a couple of items that are available at most HEBs and many health food stores that I thought would be a must for me goin veggie.

Amy's Frozen Dinners – I've been obsessed with these things even as a carnivore. These frozen dinners are all vegetarian and absolutely great (the tofu-containing meals a little pricier, but fill you up well). I've been eating Amy's Indian (in particular, the mattar paneer) for years, and it's honestly better than at a couple of Indian restaurants I've visited. The tofu scramble is just under $6, and with a small snack makes for a very filling lunch. The mexican dinners are also very good. The Santa Fe enchilada bowl is my favorite, and rings in at a mere $2.88.

Central Market Frozen Pizzas – This is the best frozen pizza out there, and they're available for $4.99 at both HEB and Central Market. The vegetables are excellent on these pizzas; the olive pizza has both black and green olives. The sicilian onion pizza has artichoke chunks and capers. My absolute favorite is still the goat cheese and spinach.

Bulk Foods – no better way than to get the nuts and seeds you'll need for protein for a reasonable price. MikeDub and I are addicted to the Sunridge energy power mix, which provides nuts (including soy nuts) that will become critical for our protein intake. I'm also addicted to the dry roasted white pumpkin seeds that can be found at most Central Market stores.

Beans – Great source of protein and CHEAP! This trip to the store, I picked up a bag of pinto beans, and although I'd love to go on and point out more great products, I think I will instead go cook...

This week, we will be enjoying tofu-fried rice, pasta with red sauce, and my amazing pinto beans (vegetarian-style). Watch for recipes.

Happy Cooking,

Dr. Kapes