EVEN THE WEEKEND WENT WELL!!!!

Well I am back from our weekend outing to my parent's place and I am happy to report that, not only did I do really well over the weekend (at my mom's otherwise food happy house!), but according to my mom's scale (which is more accurate than mine at home), I have lost a total of 23.5 pounds since Christmas, and this morning when I got out of the shower I was three pounds lighter than I was the day before by that scale!!!!!!! I was really happy - and we will be going back to mom and dad's next weekend, so I will get to weigh myself by that scale again next weekend and the weekend after!

So Saturday morning I had my broccoli, rapini, spinach, olive oil and almond stirfry as usual. Then I went out and did a few errands like putting gas in the car, going to the library, etc. As I was going through downtown, I had the urge to stop at a Lebanese cafe to give myself a treat of a falafel sandwich. GREAT CHOICE - this is a new restaurant, very cute inside, very clean, with a lovely selection of classic lebanese food at very cheap prices. For example, my falafel sandwich was only 2.99 - it had hummous, tabouli, lettuce tomato and seasonings on it. Then he gave me a little garlic sauce for dipping, and I also bought a container of hummous from him also - only 2.99.

I brought the hummus with some carrot sticks over to my mom's for afternoon snacking and I also brought the lasagna over for dinner. Mom cut up some celery sticks (and put out a bit of pate, crackers, olives, etc. - but I stuck with my hummous and veggies - it was a very lovely hummous too!

Mom made a salad to go with the lasagna - and even my picky sister kept her mouth shut, tried it and didn't mind it! Everyone seemed to be pretty happy with it! Next time I will omit the rubbed bay, as it made the sauce have a little bitter undertone. Other than that, the whole thing could have benefitted from a little bit more watery sauce. The veggie cheese slices also should be put in the layers but not on top, as they browned up a bit too much. I would also make the sauce a little saltier and a little sweeter. Otherwise - using the pesto to help season and hold the tofu together was a terrific idea and really turned out great!

For breakfast, mom made oatmeal with soy milk and she also put some chopped nuts on the table to sprinkle on top. She also fried up some potatoes, onions and peppers in some olive oil with spices and so that's what I had while everyone else had those things along with scrambled eggs and toast. I was very happy with it.

I had left over salad for a snack in the afternoon. For dinner on Sunday, I had the last piece of lasagna, while my mom made a quick meal of lots of things I can't eat and really didn't have the desire to eat, including battered frozen fish, hashbrown casserole and coleslaw. I had a bowl of the plain cauliflower, which was fine. I really didn't feel too deprived.

The FUN thing is that tonight I put together a veggie salad for my upcoming lunches this week that turned out LOVELY!

Annette's Vegan Confetti Salad

Boil Until JUST Tender (DO NOT OVERCOOK) (separate pots would be best)

2 potatoes, cut into quite small cubes (make sure these are not over cooked)
10 small broccoli florets
2 cups frozen green beans (make sure these are cooked until tender)
1 cup each frozen corn and frozen peas

When you take these off the stove, immediately drain, then cover with cold water twice. After they are cool, drain very well, and add to the big bowl below:

In the meantime, chop the next ingredients and put into a big bowl:

1/2 of an orange or red or green bell pepper
10 baby carrots sliced fairly thin
1/2 zucchini, quartered, then sliced thin
2 savoy (or regular) cabbage leaves, sliced very thin and cut in 1 inch long pieces
1 tbsp very finely chopped red onion

Also sprinkle in (optional)

1/2 cup cashew pieces
3 tbsp sesame seeds
3 tbsp hemp seeds


Sprinkle the veggies with lots of salt and ground black pepper and ground dill week.
Clean, and snip one big bunch of fresh chives into tiny pieces into the big bowl also.


Tofu Mayo Dressing

1 pkg silken tofu
2 tbsp olive oil (to taste)
juice of 1 lime (to taste)
juice of 1 lemon (to taste)
1 tsp dijon mustard (to taste)

Blend all ingredients in the blender until a thick cream is formed. Taste and adjust the seasonings to your own tastes. (Should taste a little like mayonnaise, not the sweet kind
unless you like it that way).

Pour over top of all the veggies and mix together with two big spoons until all the ingredients are well combined. Serve cold.

(use your favorite vegetables - whatever you like, cooked or uncooked in this recipe)

That's it for now - see you tomorrow!