Hi there =)
We had a really tiring and physical day, but we also had a fun time today. We spent a couple hours in the basement sanding (no pics yet, too much dust) and then almost 4 hours doing yard work. Weeding, mowing the lawn, pruning, removing dead shrubs/vines, etc! Eric said I did a great job today. I beamed with pride (usually I have no confidence with renos and yard work type endeavors!)
A weed-free garden is a peaceful garden!
The weeds were out of control as we haven’t had any time to weed in over a month!
I think these beds need some flowers! All the perennials have come and gone this season. It is sad when their bloom is complete!
Blue Jay feather…we have lots of Blue jays around here.
I also discovered a love for pruning…
I went a bit crazy, as you would expect.
I sculpted, I designed, I made art. I love pruning because it appeals to my artistic side. I also love symmetrical objects. Very feng shui. Eric kept walking by and chuckling to himself because he said he’s never seen someone have so much fun while pruning before. What can I say, I whistle while I work!
While I was busy weeding and pruning, he was pulling out half dead shrubs and vines covering the house.
Even though the work was hot and sweaty and not ideal for a day off, we made it fun by enjoying each other’s company. We actually had a great time out there. Many hands make the work light, or however that saying goes! ;)
After admiring our work, we came in and were starving, so I got started on dinner right away.
I made a vegan version of my favourite 7 layer tortilla pie (aka Mexican Lasagna!). It is delish both ways and I highly recommend it!
Mexican Tortilla Pie
Adapted from 7 layer tortilla pie.
Ingredients:
- 2 (15 ounce) cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup salsa, divided
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 (15 ounce) can refried beans
- 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
- 7 (8 inch) flour tortillas
- 1/2-3/4 cup Mae’s humnut cheese sauce
- Dried parsley, to garnish
- Enchilada sauce (I used for top layer)
Mae’s Humnut Cheese* (adapted)
- 2-3 tbsp hummus
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- A pinch of turmeric if you like your cheese yellow
- water to thin
[*Note: I tripled her humnut cheese recipe.]
Directions: Preheat oven to 400F. In a large bowl, mash pinto beans. Stir in 3/4 cup salsa and garlic. In a separate bowl, mix together 1/4 cup salsa, cilantro, refried beans and tomatoes. Place 1 tortilla in a greased pie plate or tart dish. Spread 3/4 cup pinto bean mixture over tortilla to within 1/2 inch of edge. Top with 1/4 cup humnut cheese, and cover with another tortilla. Spread with 2/3 cup refried beans, and top with 1/4 cup humnut cheese. Repeat layering twice. Cover with remaining tortilla, and spread with remaining pinto bean mixture, humnut cheese, and enchilada sauce. Cook for about 35 minutes. Serves 6.
I didn’t have 7 tortillas or refried beans, so I made an adapted version, but it still worked out!
I had two slices and Eric had THREE! We were hungry monstaaaaas. In our case, it did not serve 6 as the recipe suggests! lol. It depends on how hungry you are I guess.
Eric said ‘If you keep cooking like this I won’t ever need to eat meat again!’ , as he shoveled in the pie.
I’m not so sure that will ever happen, but he has cut down meat about 75-80% and he says he doesn’t really miss it. I get a TON of questions about Eric’s diet- in fact, it is probably one of the most frequently asked questions as of late. I think he needs to start a blog! ;)
Eric does love a good beef burger, so I don’t think he would ever give up meat entirely (or maybe I am wrong here)… and that is fine by me. I will support him, just like he supports my choices. I don’t think that everyone needs to be 100% meat-free to make a difference. The fact that he is now making healthier choices than he once did, is a positive step and makes a huge impact on the system and his health. Small changes add up to something big! I truly believe this. I don’t think that everyone’s ‘end goal’ should be a vegan diet, but I do support awareness and consciousness about our food choices and the opportunity to feel our best with what we put into our bodies. I guess you could say I am pro-educated choice!
Do you live with someone and if so, do you share the same ‘diet’ or do you have different eating habits, opinions on what you eat, and different taste preferences? Is it difficult, easy, fun, creative, annoying?
You have managed to make even gardening seem like something I would like to do!
In response to your question, my partner and I have quite different diets preferences. Mine is that I will eat anything (except ice-cream, yuck!) whereas his are much more restrictive. He has some very definite likes and dislikes, and doesn’t eat any fruit at all. He also doesn’t like sweet things, which just means when I bake I generally freeze some and then eat it all myself!
He is also Muslim, and when we moved in together we agreed to keep the house halal. We do this to the extent of not allowing alcohol or pork products inside the house, since we don’t live anywhere near a halal butcher. The alcohol is very easy, as I don’t drink either, although not for religious reasons. Not allowing alcohol sometimes put off some of our guests, though, which is little frustrating as I think it is possible to have a great time without drinking. The pork also isn’t a problem – I still eat things with bacon in them when we eat out, I just don’t have it in the house.
I do most of the cooking now that he is working and I am still a grad student who works from home. I sometimes get frustrated that I can’t try out some recipes that I would like because he is less adventurous than I am, and also that there are so many recipes with wine in them that I can’t figure out a decent substitute for!
My husband totally supports my being vegan and eats everything I cook with relish, but I don’t think he will ever go completely vegan. My kids (4 and 2 years old) are not vegan, but eat pretty healthily and like fruits and veggies (but also dairy and meat). My oldest has really gotten into my morning green monsters, as long as they have lots of fruit in them too! And her awareness of what is healthy seems to be growing. I hope my example will help them choose a healthy lifestyle, but I won’t pressure them to become vegan.
It is a challenge sometimes to feed everyone according to their tastes…
That is so great to hear how supportive Eric is of you diet, and of your cooking and recipe experiments! My boyfriend and I don’t live together but most nights of the week we we are at one of our houses cooking dinner together. He is really supportive of my dietary needs and will always adapt a recipe to suit my needs. Some times he will buy a meet or extra ingredient that he wants but he always makes sure what I’m eating is prepared the way that I want. He has definitely begun to eat a whole lot healthier since we have begun dating and it’s really great to have his support :)
Oh, that pie looks so, so good! Will definitely try it! (My omnivore husband says similar things, but I think he’s a long way off from meat-free! LOL)
Great question and so timely as I’ve been thinking about the differences in how my bf (whom i live with in a small nyc apt) and I eat and live. While we do go for the occasional run together and he certainly does not shun a vegetable if put in front of him, my boyfriend loves his neighborhood take out, fast food burgers and sweets. He’s fortunate to have great genes, and is naturally slender…I on the other hand have to work my bootay…hard to look the way I want to look. It’s tough having delicious Crumbs cupcakes in the fridge (right now we have a tray of 6 massive cakes a friend had delivered as a thank you…arg!) or gourmet (but high calorie) pizzas, and snacks around. I don’t want him to change the way he eats because of my lack of control…but it can be very difficult to stick to my guns in a co-habitation situation :-P hopefully with time it will come
My boyfriend and I have a great time gardening together even though both of us are totally inexperienced in that department! But it’s a great way to spend time together!
Alan isn’t vegetarian but since we moved in together he doesn’t eat meat all that much anymore. Even before we were dating he had stopped eating a lot of red meat, now he just has it on occasion. Other than his penchant for junky snack food he’s a pretty healthy eater!
And I’m right there with you, I don’t care what other people eat as long as they KNOW what they’re eating and why.
My husband and I definitely have different food choices. I am an “unofficial” vegetarian- don’t have much taste for meat anymore and hardly eat it these days, and he loves his burgers and fries, although he has cut way back on that stuff. We eat most of our meals from home, and don’t bring in (or prepare!) a lot of junk food at home. Most of the time we can find common ground :-)
My parents have completely given up on my eating habits. (I’m vegetarian) My mother no longer attempts to cook or buy food for me. I do most of my own shopping and cook most of my own meals. My boyfriend grew up eating meat meat meat and is dead set against trying new things even when I put my heart and soul into them. I’m convinced that if he tries the things I make he’ll learn to like them, but I don’t want to push him, so I’ll have to let him figure it out on his own time… But he’s got to know, when he moves away from his mother’s house, he’s going to have to find some way to sustain himself that doesn’t involve just yelling at her to make him food…
Eric’s diet sounds similar to Mr. Arkansas (my husbands) he has cut way down he only eats meat at (maybe) one meal a day now and say’s he doesn’t notice as long as I am cooking yummy foods.
The vegan tortilla pie looks AMAZING. Re: eating habits of those I live with, my parents don’t enjoy (their words, not mine:) “healthy shit” so it’s hard to cook for them. Since becoming vegetarian, we barely ever eat the same meal. Also, I get done with work at 3 and working out by 4, get home at 4:30 starving so I have a big snack/ linner. They eat dinner at around 7 but I’m not hungry then.
I try to listen to my body’s hunger cues but at the same time I hate that I always eat alone. :/
I think your attitude towards Eric’s diet is great and really refreshing. I’ve only recently really started cleaning up my diet, and I cannot tell you how much better I feel because of it! I want my fiance to share my happy healthiness with me, and I know I can be a bit (ok, alot!) of a nag about it. This is something I’m working on…encouraging (and enticing) him to eat healthily, but supporting him making his own choices. We’re currently dealing with some physical distance between us (hello, Atlantic Ocean!), but I can’t wait till we live together and we can make healthy and delicious meals for us to enjoy together! This tortilla pie will definitely be one such meal!
That Mexican Lasagna looks fantabulous! You are so creative with your cooking! I love it!
I am using “Choosing Raw” to help me get where I am eventually vegetarian. I’m doing it in baby steps but I am almost there. I eat pure veggie for breakfast, lunch and dinner now, but every now and then I may break in and have something but haven’t yet, and it’s been over a month now. Woohoo! Now the hubby on the other hand, will not become full fledge vegetarian as he does like an occasional burger or steak like Eric, but he’s almost 85% vegetarian. He doesn’t eat much meat at all. I’m real proud of him in that aspect.
Just want you to know you have helped me tremendously to get there in a gradual way!
My husband and I definitely eat healthier than we ever have before, but he still eats some things I don’t. He will never give up meat entirely, but he’s down to just a little on his lunch sandwiches. I have never liked meat, even when I was a kid, so it’s a lot easier for me!
Ian has a completely different diet than I do. But when I make dinner for him he will most certainly eat it but throughout the day he loves to munch on candy and drink glass after glass of milk! I’m trying to slowly get rid of all of it in the pantry…shhh dont tell lol
My husband has also cut down on eating meat since I went all vegan this year. And I don’t think he misses it either. He too enjoys a burger or club sandwich when we go out to eat…but we have sort of an informal rule of no meat in the house. When we have guests sometimes I will cook meat or we will have a BBQ and everybody brings their own and that is fine with me. People ask me if I am disgusted when I see people eat meat…absolutely not. I choose to not eat meat and dairy for the environment and animal cruelty…but I can understand enjoying certain non-vegan foods. I love your take on “pro educated decision” I agree with you completely.
unfortunately, my family thinks i’m a freak for the way i eat. they used to be totally opposed, but i think they’ve come to the realization that it’s not goign to change. i feel better, look better, and have tons more energy! :) god loves me the way i am, and that’s all i need. plus all you bloggers make me feel normal :D so thanks for being so inspiring and making me feel a lot less lonely in my journey for health.
The Mexican tortilla pie looks fantastic! I will have to try it! Oh, and your landscaping looks so pretty! I, too, look at pruning as an artistic outlet..the skies the limit with creative possibilities!
That looks yummy! I’m a vegetarian and my hubby isn’t, but it’s not a problem. We have separate lunches and breakfasts on the weekdays, but on the weekends and at dinner we eat the same veggie food. I’m slowly attempting to adopt more vegan practices, but I haven’t sold him on that so far!
Leave it to me to be completely sidetracked by a relatively small detail in a post but that feather is so pretty (Well a little tattered but the pattern and color is amazing). I have a thing for feathers especially in headbands.
My boyfriend, Chris, and I definitely have different eating habits. I’m vegan and try not to eat processed foods and he is a meat-eater. However, when we first started dating he ate tons of fast food and processed junk food (he also can eat anything and never gain a pound, grr). Now, since learning a little from me he has cut out fast food and enjoys all of my vegan creations! He still will eat meat at lunch sometimes and when we go out to dinner, but he supports me and actually really likes all of the vegan meals I prepare!