21-Day Vegan Re-Kickstart - Day 2

Day 2 of our Vegan Re-Kickstart:

Breakfast was super easy!  Mesa Sunrise Cereal by Nature's Path with a sliced banana and a tablespoon of hemp seeds.  I love the taste of this cereal plus it's organic and gluten-free!  Hemp seeds are soooo good for you.   Seeds of the plant cannabis sativa, hemp seed, contain all the essential amino acids and essential fatty acids necessary to maintain healthy human life. No other single plant source has the essential amino acids in such an easily digestible form, nor has the essential fatty acids in as perfect a ratio to meet human nutritional needs.  Plus, they taste good!  They have a mild nutty taste even though they are seeds.

Lunch was also an easy task - leftover Amy's Organic Lentil Vegetable Soup and a cup of leftover Couscous Confetti Salad.

Dinner today was Hoppin' John Salad and Kwick Kale.  

HOPPIN’ JOHN SALAD - (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

Makes about 10 1/2-cup servings or 5 1-cup servings

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked black-eyed peas, or 1 15-ounce can black-eyed peas, drained

1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice

1/2 cup finely sliced green onions

1 tomato, diced

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley (optional)

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 - 2 garlic cloves, crushed

Directions:

Combine black-eyed peas, rice, green onions, tomato, and parsley in a mixing bowl.  In a small bowl, mix together lemon juice, oil, salt, and garlic and pour over the salad.  Toss gently.  Chill 1 to 2 hours if time permits.

Nutrition:

Per 1/2-cup serving

• Calories: 91
• Fat: 1.9 g
• Saturated Fat: 0.3 g
• Calories from Fat: 18.5%
• Cholesterol: 0 mg
• Protein: 3.7 g
• Carbohydrates: 15.4 g
• Sugar: 1.3 g
• Fiber: 3.6 g
• Sodium: 68 mg
• Calcium: 20 mg
• Iron: 1.2 mg
• Vitamin C: 5.4 mg
• Beta Carotene: 137 mcg
• Vitamin E: 0.4 mg

Source: Turn Off the Fat Genes by Neal D. Barnard, M.D.; recipe by Jennifer Raymond M.S., R.D.

HaHa!  This picture kind of looks like a quirky smiley face!  Fred was not smiling too much when I served him this for dinner.  I could have sworn that he liked this the last time I made it.  Not so much this time - in fact he said he had to force himself to eat it.  I on the other hand, loved the lemony, vinegary taste of the bean salad.  So, I guess I will have to retire this recipe unless I want to eat it all myself.  

Namaste'
Carrie