What did I eat today?

When people discover that my husband and I do not eat any meat or dairy they often ask what do you eat? First a confession, we have chickens and we do eat their eggs. They are yard chickens,  free to roam around our fenced property -- although I do try hard to keep them out of the gardens. The six  hens eat whatever they can scratch up along with leftovers from our plates, and organic corn and food pellets whenever they want them. Having made my disclaimer, I thought I would offer some ideas for menus without meat and dairy.

My husband and I are both over 65 so we don't use as much energy as younger people or those who do physical labor might. Please take your own energy needs into account!

Breakfast is generally a scramble using two eggs, one for each of us, except during the dark winter months when there might be only one egg to add, or no eggs at all. We NEVER purchase eggs. If the hens aren't laying, we aren't eating eggs. Once in a while we might add leftover tofu or tempeh instead.
Into the morning scramble goes leftover vegetables from dinners the previous nights. We might begin with chopping up some onion, garlic, or celery and then in the summer adding fresh sliced eggplant and green pepper from the garden, a handful of sesame seeds to up the nutrition, and then some left over mushrooms, beans, squash, or greens, and a bit of basil - either flower buds when they are fresh or dried buds or fresh leaves in the off seasons. Just before scrambling in any eggs if they are available, some leftover rice, quinoa, buckwheat or polenta is added. When the eggs are done we sit down to eat the scramble with a cup of tea. We eat the same whenever we are at home together year round.

Lunch time is not formal unless I am working and then I will look for soup or salad since I do not eat breakfast foods except at home. We both work but I work away from home 4-5 days a week. Our routine is based on that assumption. At home for snack/ lunch I usually have a handful of nuts - almonds, hazelnuts and either walnuts or sunflower seeds. I may also have a handful of crackers, gluten free as my husband is Celiac and I am sensitive. A piece of fruit if it is available rounds out the snack/lunch for me along with a cup of tea or coffee.  Holds me over fine until dinner which my husband and I always eat together even it is means eating after 9 PM when I get home.

Dinner time menus vary with the seasons. Tonight we will enjoy freshly made walnut basil pesto on rice noodles. There will be a side of fresh tomatoes with lettuce, some fresh green beans from the garden and nice glass of watered wine. I always water my wine... I like it better actually, the wine goes farther and I am not affected by the alcohol. (I generally have a pint glass of ice cold water filled two thirds full. To this I add just under a quarter cup of wine.- really its very refreshing!) 

On other nights dinner might be homemade falafals with tahini sauce, a side of hummus, wild rice,  salad and steamed greens. We eat a lot of kale and chard from the garden, and buy spinach and collards throughout the year. We also grow beets and carrots and enjoy adding them in to whatever we are having. We often enjoy a root vegetable medley: a potato or two, sunchokes, a carrot and a few small beets steamed together with garlic salt and olive oil lightly drizzled over the top.  Ground cherries, figs and berries are lovely for desert or snacks in season, and so are applesauce and rhubarb sauces made from our garden produce.

Another favorite for dinner is tempeh which we heat in olive oil or steam on top of rice and flavor with tamari. My husband also makes nut spreads, referred to by some plant eaters as 'nut cheeses'. These are quick and easy to put together. We always have a wide variety of dried beans and lentils on hand year round. Red beans, Kidney beans, white beans, black eyed peas, and the like all take just a while to cook when we remember to soak them the night before! Beans, grain, and greens seasoned with garlic oil are staples during the winter time. And of course, winter squash is lovely when available and soup on a cold evening is welcome and easy to put together.

The variety of vegetables and fruits that grace our table during the year are quite delicious. We don't worry about having lots of any one thing, remembering that soups and casseroles and hash are all ways that leftovers and small amounts can be used to make something quite tasty with a variety of nutrients as well -- all without any meat or dairy.

So that is all for now. Lucky for me I just ate! I hope you are up to experimenting with new tastes and animal free meals.