Beefless Ribs

Vegetarian McRibs?

     I was curious about the McRib Sandwich when it came out the first time around YEARS AGO. However, I never tried because it would disappear before I could get around to it. So, last year when I noticed that it was back, I decided I would try it. Why?? Curiosity? Anyway, I thought the taste was okay (the kindest thing I can think of), even though the texture was obviously not meaty. It was processed and nowhere near meat. I felt sick afterwards, maybe not from the meat, but maybe the grease? Some vegetarian products try to imitate meat, but some meat products try to imitate meat too, maybe even more so!
     Then, I saw MorningStar's Hickory BBQ Riblets. Okay, anyone who likes eating ribs is NOT going to mistake these riblets for the real thing. The sauce is not bad and, in the end, this product does have protein.

Vegetarian riblet in a hickory barbeque sauce

     Another plus is that it's easy to prepare. Just stick it the microwave for longer than you would expect, let it rest. Then, stick it between whole wheat buns with lettuce and tomato maybe. There's plenty of sauce.
     If I ever open a vegetarian fast food place, I'd probably have this on the menu with organic french fries. Or maybe I should convince existing food chains to carry it, as long as they are trying to imitate meat, why not offer a vegetarian alternative?

Vegetarian Kimchi Soup

Korean chili paste

Gochujang is a Korean chili paste and it's used in soups and stuff. I like it in soups as it adds a spicy and red color to everything. My first experience with it is having Yukgaejang, which is a spicy beef soup. Kimchi soup is another Korean-style soup which usually has some sort of meat in it, like pork. Here is a vegetarian version.

8 oz of wheat meat/gluten/seitan
2 cups of kimchi (chopped)
2 tablespoons of gochujang
3-4 garlic cloves
4 Chinese black mushrooms (soaked and sliced)
half a carton of tofu (about 6-7 ounces), cubed
2 green onions
sesame oil to taste
salt to taste

Vegetarian Kimchi Soup

Bring to boil about 3-4 cups of water. Add the mushrooms, chopped kimchi, chili paste, garlic and half of the green onions. Simmer. Meanwhile, fry the wheat meat to develop a desired texture. It's already cooked so you don't need to over-fry it, but you want it to liven it up. Toss into the soup. If using, add sesame oil to taste. Add salt to taste. Garnish with the rest of the green onions. You can eat it as is or serve with brown rice.

1st Quarter Report- January 1 to March 31, 2011

1st Quarter Weight Loss Graph

     For some reason, I couldn't upload spreadsheets, so I decided to take a picture of my first quarter weight loss. Each bar represents what I weighed on that particular week. I took the weight of each day of the week and took the average. As you can see, it's been a downward trend.
     The last four weeks, I went through an ice cream phase, but now I'm over it. Let's see, I was eating Haagen-Dazs ice cream: coffee, chocolate peanut butter, strawberry, dulce de leche, etc. Thankfully, I didn't gain that much weight because of it and I managed to continue on decline despite of it.
     I told someone I had lost weight by eating vegetarian foods and he was surprised. He asked me if that's the only thing I'm doing. And the answer is yes! I was exercising a little before and I wasn't losing weight and I'm still exercising about the same level. So, it must be what I'm eating!
     I did a Carbohydrate Addicts Diet a long time ago (the toned down version of the Atkins Diet) and it worked, but I got tired of eating eggs, so much so, that to this day, I'm not really drawn to eating that many eggs. I found that the only time I ate eggs was usually when I baked something. So, I'll probably explore vegan baking at some point.
     I also found that I only used butter occasionally, as a spread on toast, or in baking and I already started substituting coconut oil in baking. I also have palm oil and Earth Balance, so if I'll go to vegan baking, I'll experiment and see which ones I like the most. As for a spread, I like Earth Balance as a spread.
     As for milk, I used to drink a few glasses of milk each day. Nowadays, I only use it in my tea or coffee. Or in cereal, but I don't eat cereal anymore. I like the taste of soy creamer so I've been using that.
     As you may have guessed, I love ice cream, but I also like coconut ice cream and I'd like to try hemp milk ice cream. I've tried Rice Dream Ice Cream and I don't like it at all. So, if I stopped eating ice cream, I'd probably eat Coconut Bliss. And when adding cream to soups, I like adding coconut milk already instead.
     I tried vegan cheese and I don't really like it, so I probably won't give up cheese. I don't eat chunks of cheese, but I like adding them to soups and sauces. So, I'll just reduce my usage.
     It almost sounds like I'm becoming a vegan, doesn't it? I probably will never be a vegan, but how about a semi-vegan? All in all, it hasn't really been that difficult in switching to a vegetarian diet and the weight loss has been gradual, but it's been a loss nevertheless?
     I want to hear from you? Are you doing something about those New Year's Resolutions? What are some of your stories? How are you doing?