First time I have ever made chili without the meat and its been awhile since we had chili. But this was good… perfect for a cold Fall night and my hubby’s second meatless meals experience.

I didn’t follow a recipe because none I found online sounded good to me. So I winged it. In the slow cooker I threw together some black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, some other beans that were in an unmarked jar, a chopped onion, some chopped garlic, a big can of stewed tomatoes, a jalapeno, and some vegetable stock. Oh and some cumin, chili powder, and other assorted spices.

Together with raw flax, sesame, almond pulp crackers… it was delish. The two younger kids did not like it though… too spicy. They ended up eating crackers, fruit and celery with almond butter.

Next time I will make some of Alicia Silverstone’s vegan cornbread from The Kind Diet… a book I am devouring right now. Just didn’t have any cornmeal or sorghum.

I must say that hubby loved this. He had one bowl at dinner time but after I went to bed he ate all the leftovers up… another meatless meals success story.

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So what do you do when the two people in a marriage have fundamentally different ideas about what constitutes a healthy diet?

My husband and I were discussing my core diet mission plan and asked if he had a choice in this. You see for awhile now he is has been half hearted with the raw vegan thing and often makes his own meals but I REALLY want to get us ALL on the same page. Although he has really amazed me in some respects. This is a guy who used to take hot dogs (eeeeewwww!) and Ramen noodles to work for lunch and now I see him grabbing handfuls of dehydrated fruit and raw flax crackers instead. But the man still loves bacon, ham, steak, pork chops, and all that MEAT.

Yesterday we discussed how we could all get what we want without driving each other crazy and without any more meals were two people are making separate things. He told me he was up to letting me take charge if I back up the truck and start from an easier place… like vegetarian meals with raw side dishes or something. I was ecstatic to say the least! Wahoo!

Tonight I sought to amaze him and prove that meatless can be good. After building up a good repertoire of veggie meals then I can start transitioning him to vegan, followed by mostly raw… in a perfect world, LOL. I like a challenge and he is finally willing to meet me halfway. So back to tonight… Italian is a favorite of his so I made Whole Wheat Capellini with Tomatoes and Artichokes.

You start with the ingredients above… onion and garlic…  and saute them in olive oil for a few minutes. Add diced tomatoes and halved artichoke hearts. I use canned artichoke hearts that had been well rinsed and cut.

Saute those for about 10 minutes, reduce heat, and add some vegetable stock and cream. I wonder if nut milk would be a tasty alternative… I will have to try it. While this is cooking you can make up a pot of whole wheat pasta. Thin pasta like capellini works best. Dole out the pasta, top with the tomato artichoke sauce, and sprinkle with a hard Italian cheese (optional).

Oh yummo!! We hadn’t had pasta in quite awhile and it was such a treat. The serving sizes were on the small side… those are small plates, but it was filling. My hubby went out and got the bread while the meal was cooking… I told him I wanted a hard, whole wheat bread but he came home with something like French and it was white. I didn’t like it or eat it. Guess I might need to look into bread making if he is going to insist on bread.

Anyway… no meat and hubby LOVED it. He had three servings. He did keep saying that some bacon or prosciutto would really rock this dish but admitted that it was stellar on its own. My stomach was upset by the cream but I got lots of sympathy points from hubs. He cleaned!

Along with this meal we all had a big Cranberry Spinach Smoothie with banana, goji berries, flax seed, and Amazing Grass mixed in. Another big yum!

So… for you veggies and vegans…. can you direct me to some recipes powerful enough to win a meat eater’s heart? Now that he is willing to try, I need to convince him that meatless is GOOD. Comment and let me know!

The whole family is crazy for good summer tomatoes. So far they have been so-so but pretty soon we will be drowning in fresh tomatoes from our garden and the local farmer’s market. My fave way to eat them, is sliced with a little Himalayan sea salt sprinkled on top.

But the tastiest version that we make for snacks and meals is just sliced tomatoes, a thin slice of soft mozarella cheese, drenched in EVOO, vinegar, and dried Italian herbs. In the heat of the summer I think the kids and I could eat this for lunch and dinner… just a plate of tomatoes. Leave out the cheese and you still have a spectacular dish. It is a little slice of heaven on earth…

What’s your favorite summer snack or quickie meal idea?

A couple years ago I used to make rolled oat peanut butter balls for my kids. I decided to try to make them with almond butter and see how they turned out. They are a nice, not to sweet treat. They taste like granola and I think they would be even better with a few dates or raisins and cacao nibs in the mix too. Yum!

These are not raw since rolled oats are not raw. They have been heated to high temps to flatten and then cut them. That is why I am not an oatmeal fan…it has been cooked not once, but twice. I have my doubts that there is even any nutrition left at that point. If you want to make these completely raw you need oat groats, plain or steel cut. I thought the texture would be kind of bizarre with oat groats so I went with rolled oats.

Recipe: 2 1/2  C Oats, 1 C nut butter, 1/2 C ground flax seeds, 1/2 cup agave nectar or honey, 1/2 cup dried coconut, 2 T carob powder. Optional: 1/8 C dates or raisins, chopped. 1/8 C Cacao nibs or carob chips.

Mix together and roll into balls with your hands. You may need to wash your hands 2-3 times before you get them all rolled, as sticky hands make it very hard to roll them. Refrigerate these and they are good to go. One butter ball makes a quick on-the-go snack!

A hankering for something sweet hit me this afternoon so the kids and I made some raw chocolate cookies. They turned out rather delicious and they were super easy to make.

Ingredients: cacao powder, nuts (I used almonds, pecans, and macadamia nuts), agave nectar, coconut butter, and vanilla.

After mixing everything in a Blendtec I put them in the freezer to get hard and easier to eat, otherwise they are really gooey.  These are going to be perfect  for Easter nests if we add some shredded coconut. Yum!