No Meat Week - Valentine's Day Dinner

My son's teacher in primary is mostly a vegetarian. I have to admit that vegetarians fascinate me. There have been various times in my life where I've contemplated being a vegetarian but then I'm always been pulled back by several things. Number one being I actually really like meat. I think it taste delicious. Two I really have no idea what I would cook if I couldn't cook meat. Well we had #1's teacher over and I was contemplating these things again. Plus I figured I needed to brush up on my no red meat and stuff that can be made with tofu so when I go to see my sister in March I'll be prepared. So this week I decided to try out some no meat dishes just to see if I could come up with seven dinners worth. Seven dinners I mean besides the ones we always eat: veggie burgers, kosherie (lentils and pasta), and black beans and rice. I also wondered if it would be cheaper. We are now two days in. The answer to if it would be cheaper is a resounding no. I spent more money on groceries this week than I usually do. Yes beans and lentils are cheaper than meat but things like cauliflower, wanton wrappers, tahini, coconut oil, multiple types of mushrooms, avocados, and zucchini at this time of year really add up. Also being a vegan would be hard. I mean I'm still using dairy and eggs but if I wasn't I would have had to have bought a whole lot of tofu cheese and that would have gotten even more pricey. Anyway here are my first two days of the no meat week.

Day one: Noodles (whole wheat although the recipe called for rice noodles), carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, green onions, tossed with sesame oil and soy sauce. I thought this was delicious. My hubby said, "I know whole wheat is better for you but sometimes I just wish we could eat white carbs." I think I may have overdone it by making him whole wheat cookies earlier in the day. I mean I did use pastry whole wheat which is suppose to be better but still.

Day Two-Valentine's Day Dinner: Stuffed shells and stuffed mushrooms. The stuffed shells were filled with ricotta, spinach, egg, and Parmesan cheese. So tons of dairy there. A no/no for vegans. My sister though made a similar dish using tofu in the place of the ricotta. Well ave to ask her how it went. The mushroom heads are stuffed with sautéed mushroom steams, green onions, bread crumbs, and a tiny bit of cheddar cheese. Usually a put bacon bits in their as well and I have to say I think they were still pretty good although I did miss the bacon. We also had a spinach salad with a mandarin orange dressing and white Italian bread. I decided to give the hubby a rest.

Finally on a totally unrelated note when you are in a pinch foil works pretty well as wrapping paper and doesn't even need to be taped. HURRAY!