Day 13 & 14

Yesterday was an easy sandwich, snacks, and frozen VeganPizza kind of day......just was......lots to do. I went to spin, trained Miss B and unpacked new Lulu at the studio. I had another couple of appointments in the day as well so when I came home late for lunch, I made a quick but delicious Smoked Tofurkey, Lettuce and Mayo on whole grain bread sandwich....Y U M.....
Had about an hour at home to do some work and then was headed back out.

By the time I got home at the end of my day I was tired and I knew there wasn't going to be a lot of action going on in my kitchen at this point, not for me anyways.
I had ordered some frozen vegan pizzas from a local company called the American Flatbread Co (http://www.americanflatbread.com)....When I was eating cheese, I loved their little frozen pizzas- so when I discovered they offered a vegan version, I ordered them straight away. My dinner prep was preheating the oven to 425 degrees and opening up a bottle of wine. Out of the oven, the pizza looks really plain but it was very tasty...plain, but it had such a good crust and flavor. I think if I was so inclined to have one again in the near future, I would top it with fresh mushrooms, onions, green peppers and olives...... :)

Claudine was like NO WAY to pizza (vegan or otherwise) so she made herself a beautiful meal of beans, rice and kale....I just wasn't feeling whole food & meal oriented so pizza, some of her kale and a glass of wine did me just fine.

This morning I woke up reluctantly, got a late start and gathered myself (after my chai and mini domestic cleaning spree) for my home practice. During my quick kitchen once-over (counters, trash, recycling, cleaning out the fridge) and before my yoga, I figured I would start lunch. My friend had asked me about lentils so I reached into the cupboard and figured today would be a perfect Lentil soup day. I used brown lentils but really any lentil would work nicely.

Soups are so forgiving so more or less of each ingredient is very do-able.

Wheat-Free, Gluten-Free, Vegan

• 1c brown lentils, washed and drained
• 1/2 head of escarole, kale or collard greens, rough chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 dried chili pepper, smashed
• 1/2 pound tofu, pressed and cubed* optional
  
• 1/2c cooked brown rice or other cooked grain* optional
• 1/4t black pepper
• 1/2t cayenne pepper flakes
• 1 vegetable bouillon cube (or 1T veggie broth powder)
• 3T xvo

• 6c boiling water
• 1t salt or to taste
• Bring 6c of water to a boil.

In a large soup pot, add the olive oil and sauté the onions, carrots, celery, and chili until golden and soft. Add the lentils, and the rice, mixing them into the vegetables. Add the boiling water, the bouillon cube (or powder), pepper and salt. Bring to a boil and reduce heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes. Add the tofu and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes. Adjust the seasonings before serving.

Off I went upstairs to my yoga room/ office. I layed my mat down and let practice flow for over an hour. I took shavasana with legs up the wall for about 5 minutes and then rolled downstairs to get lunch ready.

In the last 5 or so minutes of cooking the soup, in another pan, heat up a T of olive oil and add the garlic- let it go until it is JUST golden. Add the escarole bits and saute until it is wilted but still bright green.

Place some of the cooked greens into a soup bowl and ladle the lentil soup over them. Top with nutritional yeast. THIS CAME OUT DELICIOUS....

I had a really sweet practice today......coming downstairs to this soup wasn't bad either.......It too was a sweet practice.