Nacho Bowl

It has taken a long time to find a cheese sub I like enough to use for nachos. This make more of a nacho dip to eat with chips, but it fills the void.

• Make the Mac and Broccoli Sauce and add 2-3 pickled jalepeños. Blend.
  
• Heat sauce in a small pan- remember it has raw tofu, so it should be cooked before consuming.
• Heat up some refried beans (many are now fat free and vegan), and add adobo sauce or chipotle powder. I like them hot, so I add adobo and maybe blend in a whole chipotle from the can if I'm really craving it. Also, you could make the Adobo Sauce from Vcon, and add to your nacho bowl. Very good!
  
• Serve together in a bowl, with whatever toppings you like. 
• I had red peppers, tomatoes, salsa verde and some Tapatío hot sauce. I would have had fresh cilantro, but I'm in danger of killing the plant if I don't let it grow some more. 
• Find some Baked Blue Corn chips. I've seen Garden of Eatin' and Traders Joes, and they are AMAZING. They don't taste like mushy baked chips and they're about 120 calories for 19 chips. 19! That's great!
  

There's a margarita I really like from a local Mexican place, and I always eat too much when we go there. So we save it for special things. But sometimes I really want that sweet-tart with my spicy food. Tonight I did, and I tried a substitute.

• Find some fancy grapefruit soda, add 8-9 oz to a glass, mix in half a shot of tequila, and add a lime or orange slice. 
• Bingo! All the flavor, smaller serving and way, way cheaper. It would make a good party drink too. Around 150-170 calories per glass. Add ice and you'll stretch it farther. 

Note the Quick n' Dirty label- I'll put that on my posts that take very little thought and have a lot of pantry staples. No chips? Try rice, quinoa, or polenta. 

Tomorrow night it's Quinoa, Zukes and Chickpeas with leftover Mac/Nacho Sauce. I've got a rehearsal so it's eat and run.

First Post, Dumplings with Bok Choy, Size 10

I am very excited about this blog, and I hope as I enter grad school this fall, I can keep this up as well as the healthful eating.

Speaking of, it was a Trader Joe's night. The hubs wasn't hungry, so I made quick meal for one.

• Ingredients: TJ Frozen Veggie Dumplings, Mushrooms, grated ginger, red curry paste, seasame oil, bok choy, fresh sprouts. Favorite dipping sauce recommended- sriracha and TJ thai peanut for me
  

• Dumplings, pan-fried with spray oil until crispy on bottom
  
• Add in some sliced mushrooms, water, ginger and curry paste and water to steam for 5 minutes or so
• Heat up a second pan with 1 tsp of sesame oil or so and throw in chopped bok choy and garlic
• Stir fry the cabbage while dumplings steam, add pea sprouts (so good!) and heat 1 min. max

I eat them all together in a bowl with peanut sauce and sriracha for dipping. Trader Joe's again has a good peanut sauce, but I think I'm going to make a big batch and freeze some because nothing equals the real, coconut milk-based stuff. Find it on the Net. My version is basic.

Today I bought size 10 pants and skirt for the first time since junior year of high school (I think).
Having never lost any amount of weight before in my life, this was a major milestone. I celebrated by eating strawberries as I made dinner. I might have a couple pieces of chocolate before bed too!