CATS-IN-BOWL AND SOME YUMMY LOWFAT MEALS

Ringo and Tina decided to curl up on the dirt in an unused planter!

I started on the Weight Watcher's Core Food plan the week of my son's wedding- probably a silly idea, but I actually did lose weight, even with the wedding and almost a week of company. The Core Food Plan is very flexible and easy for vegans. It actually does help me to stay on the plan, knowing I spent some money on this!

Here are a few things I've cooked up that conform with the Core Plan:


Some local beets and greens that I steamed (tossed the beets with no-fat balsamic vinaigrette); steamed local baby potatoes; extra-firm tofu that I dredged in seasoned ww flour and browned under the broiler, then cooked in broth and dry sherry, with green pepper, sundried tomatoes, garlic, rosemary, and just a smidgen of kalamata olives.


A bowl of romano beans (you could use pintos) that I cooked in chicken-style veggie broth with onions, garlic, celery, carrot, fresh sage and rosemary, pepper, and a couple of extra spoonfuls of my homemade veggie broth powder. Very yummy! I cooked some organic local cauliflower and our own kale in some of the broth and added it to the bowl.


"Fritattine" (small fritatte, or Italian omelets) folded around browned mushrooms and potatoes (fat-free) with a little of my vegan "Gruyere" cheese melted on top (UPDATE: recipe in my book World Vegan Feast). I used my basic Fritatta recipe from my book "Nonna's italian Kitchen", but I only made 3/4 of the recipe and used 1 (12.3 oz.) box of extra-firm SILKEN tofu. I only added some basil to the basic batter.


It made 5 small omelets about 5-6" across. I cooked them in small nonstick skillets over medium heat, covered, for a few minutes, until they firmed on top and browned on the bottom, then flipped them over and cooked a few more minutes. They can be filled with all sorts of vegetable mixtures. This one was actually a little dry-- next time I would serve the potatoes on the side, I think.

In the book, the directions are to cook them on a baking sheet, which is actually more practical for a large amount, but I couldn't wait for the oven to heat up. The texture is better when they are cooked in the oven, but they were pretty good done on the stovetop.

Hope you're having a good weekend!