tropit

Yeah...I used lite coconut milk, which lowered the points value a lot. It was still very good. I'm trying the Maitake Mushroom Steaks tonight. I had to start the recipe this morning, because I wanted them to marinate. The mushrooms smelled just like steak while they were cooking. Even my husband commented on it. I'll let you know how they taste. I'm going kinda Asian with my marinade and adding some WW "fried" rice and WW spicy green beans to the menu.

FYI, you can find Maitake mushrooms in the produce section. They come wrapped in small cellophane bags and are in an area of other specialty mushrooms s/a enokes. They seem expensive, but it's not that bad, considering there is no meat in the recipe.

I also tried the Banh Mi recipe. It was good too. I got a couple of my pieces of tofu a little dark. (Watch it carefully...it's easy to do.) I just sliced off the dark part and it tasted fine. I thought that the marinated carrots in it were very good. I added some cucumber, lettuce and other greens to make the sandwich more substantial. The ginger aoli was tasty, but kind of strong tasting. I'd add more mayo next time I used some light, crispy, deli rolls that you find sold in bulk around the bakery section. (Safeway.) I think that was worth going the extra mile for. The bun really makes it, IMHO.

I've tried a few other things, but I can't think of them right now. I'll post about it later.

~ C

tropit

Congrats on your weight loss! That's awesome! You're absolutely right. It IS a lifestyle change. WW (very similar to Knives Over Forks in their philosophy) really encourages you to think that way. It's amazing how much fruit and veggies you can eat when you cut out the other stuff. I'm mostly vegan (6 years) and have been on WW since January. I've lost 44 pounds so far. I look and feel sooooo much better. I'd never go back to my old way of eating now. What's wonderful, is that there are so many great vegan and low-fat recipes and cookbooks out there now.

~ C

Learning2Quilt

Wow you are doing really well on WW, congratulations. I also have been on WW since January but have not doIne nearly as well. Lately it seems I will be down 1.5 lbs but the next week up .9. My problem are the sweets. I think that if I only have one bite it doesn't count as any points but I find that those bites add up in a day. I made a mushroom bourguignon the other day from the cookbook Nutritious Delicious that was very good. It used Portabello mushrooms and even my husband said he did not miss the meat. This cookbook is not vegan but has a lot of vegan recipes in it. I wish you well on your continued success with your lifestyle change and I hope to be inspired to do the same.

tropit

Thanks...I have more to go before I reach reach goal, but I'm feeling pretty good about it, so far. I have to stay away from sweets and snacky foods. One bite leads to the whole bag..augh! I don't even bring them into the house. My husband doesn't care about them, so that makes it a lot easier. I'm finding that a lot of vegan recipes have a lot less points than their animal-based counterparts. That's a big help. Still, just because it's, "vegan," doesn't mean that its nutritious, or low-cal.

I'm going to a tea tomorrow and all they are serving are finger sandwiches and lots of cakes and cookies. I don't know any of these people and it's pot luck, so I guess I'll have to try some of the food items to be polite. I think that there's going to be wine too. Yee gads! Lord help me!

~ C

tropit

We had the Maitake steaks last night...yummmmmm! They smell like barbequed steak. (I don't think that I've tasted steak in at least 7 years.) The first bite tastes like barbequed steak...and then comes the rich, mushroom flavor. You gotta try this one! I went with a lighter marinade, so the steak-mushroom taste wasn't covered up at all. This recipe is a keeper!

~ C

Learning2Quilt

Oh, I will definitely give that a try, sounds delicious. What other cookbooks do you regularly use recipes from? I like your adventurousness in recipes. I made the potato and cauliflower soup and it was delicious. The cashews are an issue points wise but oh so good in many different applications.

cindyb

Just an update - I'm still loving this life style. I tried this recipe 'Sweet Potato Siracha Spread'. I used only 1 tsp Siracha and this was perfect!!!!! Do you know the Spring magazine Forks over Knives is out? Just got it yesterday, but oh my - everything looks soooo good. Also, I got some 'Happy Salt' in Shipshewana and have been using about a dot on a lot of my food.

Darcyshannon

I think I will try this sauce. We make sure to eat veggies with every meal. It can be done and they are tasty. We roast a lot of veggies.

tropit

What is "happy salt?" Sounds intriguing.

~ C

cindyb

'Happy Salt' is a seasoning salt that is different than any other. I got out the jar - ingr listed as "spices, dehydorated onion and garlic" and says it's distributed by Shipshewana Spice Co., PO BOx 1041, Warsaw, IN. I got mine at the E & S Store on the main street. I sure do use it a lot. I'm wanting to order the WickedHealthy Cook book, but some of their recipes I have looked at have measurements in gm mlgm and such - I'm still old school and go by Tbl and tsp. Has anyone found this to be a problem? Seems like a lot of you guys have ordered the cookbook - are you liking it?