Day 29: Last Day!

Just a cute picture of my boys.

 January is over and our experiment complete. 

We tried 20 brand-new recipes and found some new favorites in our old meal repertoire. Owen tasted with the fearlessness needed to become a true foodie; he'll be a great diner and cook someday. Scott was an enthusiastic supporter (with the exception of the veggie-tofu sausage) and rallied the boys when needed. Noah . . .well, Noah ate a lot of fruit.

We all ate a lot of plants. Each week I was surprised at the amount of produce in our cart, and by how quickly it was gone. If our family of four consistently ate a full five servings of fruits and vegetables every day we'd need even more. It does illuminate some of the national challenges with nutrition. I have the time, access, and money to keep my refrigerator full of fresh produce, even in January in Minnesota. Many people do not.

I polled Scott and the boys for their observations and favorites.

What do vegetarians eat at the game? Nachos!

Scott: "I learned that there are things that are vegetarian that are good too." (Me: "That's a surprise?") Scott: "I guess I always thought dinner had meat in it."

Owen: "Even though I love meat, there's not meat in every meal, even it if it is not vegetarian month. But as you can see from the list, Huevos Rancheros was the best thing yet. And that's one of my favorite meals. Even without meat. Surprising, huh?"

Noah, when asked what was his favorite part of vegetarian month, replied: "a digger bed!" 

Scott's favorites were Spicy Peanut Noodles, Lentil Quiche, Kale Puttanesca, and Italian Vegetable Soup.

Owen's were Eggplant Marinara, Spicy Peanut Noodles, and Huevos Rancheros. Noah's was "digger bed!" (Favorite means just one thing to Noah: diggers.)

Owen learned he likes eggplant, kale, and tofu. Scott learned he likes lentils and eggplant. Noah likes mangoes, oranges, grapefruit, grapes, pineapple, chips, and Ranch.

I learned that vegetarian dishes can be hearty and filling, without meat or even without dairy. But during my one-week, almost-vegan experiment, I learned that I just need to have cheese.

I was not surprised that vegetarian cooking is fun and delicious. I enjoyed the challenge and the inspiration to try new things. I was also not really surprised that my family is most emphatically not interested in being vegetarians permanently. Tomorrow's dinner: chicken tacos. We will, however, have a vegetarian dinner at least once per week. After all, I control what they eat.

For our last hurrah (they don't yet know we're having squash and spinach lasagna on Friday), we tried another new and interesting recipe. I think it is good enough to pass along to you, but if I made it again I'd make some adjustments. It was good, but not quite perfect.

Sweet Potato Burritos
Makes 10 small burritos

1 1/2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tsp. garlic puree or minced garlic
3 cups black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup water
1 1/2 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. ground mustard
pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 1/2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
10 flour tortillas (taco size, not the big burrito size, unless you want fewer, bigger burritos)
6 oz. shredded cheddar
thinly sliced red onions, to taste
cilantro leaves, to taste
jarred sliced jalapenos, to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Heat oil in a medium skillet, and saute onion and garlic until soft. Add beans, water, spices, and soy sauce. Bring to a boil, then simmer until reduced somewhat and heated through. Mash beans to desired consistency.

On each tortilla, spread sweet potatoes and beans, top with red onions, jalapenos, cilantro, and cheese. Roll up and place on baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes.

Suggested Adjustments: This is the recipe as I made it tonight, but if I make again, I would put less sweet potato and more beans in each burrito. I'd also add more jalapenos, or make the refried beans spicier. I might also add some fresh chopped tomatoes; I think it could use some acid.

I'm not a huge fan of the sweet-savory combo, so I when I make something like this (a similar and favorite recipe is Squash-Provolone Quesadillas), I usually make it very spicy.

We will try this again, because it is interesting and nutritious, and I think with a few tweaks could be really good.