The Diet Diversity Plan and a Giveaway

WE HAVE A WINNER!  KATHRYN WILL GET A COPY OF THIS GREAT COOKBOOK!

Vegetarian Chili from Martha Stewart's Meatless

Here's a confession.  I don't, and have never, kept a food log where I write down everything I eat in an attempt to lose weight.  The confession part is that I don't do it, because I don't actually want to see what I eat each day.  I've shied away from the accountability aspect of that.  

I was, however, inspired last week by something I saw, but didn't accurately remember, on Facebook.  In my faulty memory, I have adapted it to be a challenge to my kids to see how many different plant foods they can eat in one week.  (The goal is between 30 and 40.)  

On the top of a piece of paper we wrote each boy's name, and then they started adding fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, seeds, etc. as they eat them.  If something's on the list already, it doesn't get added.  We don't add processed food ingredients, for example the ingredients in Daiya dairy-free cheese.

It's going great!  They are excited to add new foods to the list, and we're really stunned by all the diversity that they eat in a regular week.  Sometimes it seems that they only eat vegan boxed mac and cheese and pizza, but it turns out that's not true!

If you want to boost the diversity of plant foods in your diet, I strongly encourage that you give this a try!

Another way to add diversity to your diet is to add a new cookbook to your library.  The generous folks over at Martha Stewart Living sent me a couple of copies of their new book, Meatless.  I have had a blast looking through it, and I know you will, too.  Although not every recipe is exactly right for our nut-free, vegan diet at my house, most of the recipes can easily be made to work for us.  This book is also chock full of gorgeous photos that will have you inspired to start cooking right away.  I also really liked that although everything looks absolutely delicious, nothing seems to difficult to pull off.

If you would like to enter to win the copy they sent for giveaway, please leave a comment with your name and a way to contact you in the comments.  You can have an additional entry if you like Welcoming Kitchen on Facebook, follow Welcoming Kitchen (@welcomekitchen) on Twitter, or follow me -- Kim Lutz -- on Pinterest (kitchen1).  For each additional entry, please leave a separate comment.  I will pick a winner by randomly selecting a number through random.org after noon on Tuesday, February 6, 2013.

They also shared a recipe from the book to get you excited!

Versatile Vegetarian: Chili (Reprinted courtesy of Martha Stewart Living)
Vegetarian Bean Chili
Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 poblano chile, ribs and seeds removed, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
Coarse salt
1 can (4 ounces) diced green chiles
1 tablespoon plus
11/2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
3 cups cooked kidney beans (see page 365), drained and rinsed
3 cups cooked pinto beans (see page 365), drained and rinsed
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, with juice
Assorted toppings, for serving

Preparation:

1. In a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot, heat olive oil over medium-high. Add onion, poblano, and garlic; season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 4 minutes.

2. Stir in green chiles, chili powder, and cumin; cook, stirring frequently, until spices are darkened and fragrant, about 3 minutes.

3. Add beans, tomatoes and their juice, and 2 cups water; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook until vegetables are tender and chili is thickened, 20 to 30 minutes.

4. Remove from the heat. Season with salt. Serve with suggested toppings (see page 148), as desired.

G Per serving (without toppings): 342 calories, 7 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 0 mg cholesterol, 57 g carbohydrates, 17 g protein, 18 g fiber

Happy Cooking!
Kim

Find tasty recipes in Welcoming Kitchen: 200 Delicious Allergen and Gluten-free Vegan Recipes.