Nans*ology

Do you find yourself wondering where I came up with the name of my blog: "nans*ology"? Well, here you go.

1. I wanted to try and be creative {always scary lol}. I thought of using my nickname, "Nans." Most everyone that is close to me calls me this. I'm not really sure when/where I got that nickname...I just know it stuck and that's what I've been called ever since.

2. "ology" means "subject of study" {according to google}.

So there you go: you're studying me by reading my blog. :)

I started this blog with the intention of keeping track of my 30-day meat-free experiment and I did! I blogged as often as I could - hope it was worth your time! I will continue the blog...just with various odds -n- ends.

I will be 'speaking' more about the results of my blog shortly...

{take that, McDonald's!}

Tonight's treat? Sweet potato fries. :) 

I had absolutely no recipe whatsoever...I just knew I had a sweet potato and needed/wanted something to do with it. So basically, I cut it up into french-fry sized pieces, covered the pieces with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, and stuck them in the oven, pre-heated to 350. I baked them for 30 minutes, then flipped them over and baked them another 30 minutes. Baking time depends on your preference {do you like your fries soft and gooey or not?!} Personally, my favorite french fries are the soft, gooey ones...so these were *perfect* for me! The salt added a nice touch with the sweetness of the sweet potato...a perfect blend of sweet and salty! I thought these were perfect! :)

{sorry I didn't make the picture prettier...it's late and I'm tired....I just pulled them out of the oven, snapped a picture, am writing this up...then I'm going to bed!}

{spinach and artichoke pasta}

Oh BOY was this meal a hit! {at least with Jesse and I...Candace said it could have used a few adjustments. BLAH.} I got the recipe for this pasta from here. Rather than re-write it, I'll just link you to the site I found it from. I did make a few minor adjustments, though. 

Adjustment 1: I used more noodles than her recipe called for {and a different type of noodles}. I was/am very unfamiliar with these 'Orecchiette' pasta noodles and didn't even see them on the store shelf {is this a specialty item?!} so I bought dumpling noodles. They seemed like they'd make a good pasta noodle {and they did}. This bag had 16 oz. {her recipe calls for 14 oz.}.

Adjustment 2: It humored me that the blogger made a comment that this meal was FULL of veggies! It had spinach, artichoke, and onions. That didn't shout 'full of veggies' to me. So I was chuckling over this fact...but the wheels started turning and I began to wonder, "what can I add to make it 'full of veggies?" Well, I had just bought red peppers {on sale at Bi-Lo this week for $.99!}. It seemed like they'd taste good - so I sauteed some up on the stove. {I cut them up in pretty small pieces just in case they didn't taste well with the pasta.} We also had a can of black olives {which I LOVE} so I cut those up and added them in as well! I snacked on a bunch of the olives while I was cutting them {hehe} so I think the only adjustment I would make for next time is to not do that. I thought they really added a nice flavor to the pasta! {As did the red peppers...and I also liked the little bit of crunch they added}.  I think this is a 'flexible' pasta in that you can add whatever veggies you choose! yay! 

Adjustment 3: Because I used more pasta than the recipe called for, I also added in more of the other ingredients {such as the sour cream}. 

Adjustment 4: I didn't want to buy a lemon to get the lemon zest {because we wouldn't use the lemon and it would go to waste} so I opted not to include that. It might have helped give it more flavor - but I think the olives and red pepper worked well to fix that.

NOTE: Because I used more noodles - I was able to make two meals and have one waiting in the freezer to be baked in the future. Yay for making my future life easier! :)

As I said earlier, this meal was a smashing success! Jesse was literally hovering in the kitchen waiting for this meal to be finished 'because it looked and smelled so good.' and when he took his first bite, he was like, "MMMMMMMM this is SO good! Also, between the 3 of us - we finished that 9 x 13 pan in one meal. yeah, it was just that good. :)

{thankful for freezers}

I just wanted to take a brief moment to say that I'm so thankful for such a thing as a freezer! :) I generally take the time every weekend to prepare a cup or two of quinoa and get it ready for the next week {I make my quinoa porridge and then separate it into single serving baggies, yes baggies and stick it in the freezer}. As well, when I prepare multiple person meals as I have been {like my eggplant parmesan for instance}, I automatically separate some servings and freeze them since I know I won't be able to eat all of it before it goes bad. Plus, who wants to eat eggplant parmesan 7 days in a row anyways?! This week has been INCREDIBLY BUSY as far as work is concerned {I probably shouldn't even be taking time to blog...but I figured I'd take a couple minutes to write this while my food is heating up}. Since I've had little time to prepare 'fresh' foods, I've been using my frozen foods and it's been so helpful! I've been able to keep up my healthy eating and still be as busy as I've been! Before this experiment, I probably would have been at McD's letting them prepare my food for me...so I'm thankful I haven't resorted to that! Now I'm just ready for this busy-ness to be over!

{ }

I didn't give this post a title because I don't know what to call it. I am having some WICKED huge sugar cravings today and I thought maybe if I blogged about it {and thereby felt a sense of 'accountability'}, I wouldn't give in to said temptation.  It's not that I haven't eaten any sugar - heck, I had some girl scout cookies last week...but I ate those when I wasn't 'having a craving'. My sister bought them and I made the choice to eat them. 

But with a 'craving', I feel differently about it.  I KNOW that I don't NEED this sugar and my body {brain?!} is just craving it {for some unknown reason}...so I strongly feel the desire to overcome this craving and not give in. Because I'm better than that. I WILL WIN! {I hope}.

{random thoughts}

I started a garden yesterday. Well, I planted my baby seeds in an egg carton. I only had enough room for 30 seeds, so I planted carrots and cucumbers. I'm hoping to plant more soon. I'm not sure how this 'experiment' is going to go. As bad as I am in the kitchen arena...I'm even worse at gardening. I planted some seeds last year and seriously treated those seeds like they were my babies...watered them every day, set them by the window to get sun...they were my little pretties. Then, they got knocked over one day. My beautiful babies! These tomatoes were about an inch tall, so I tried to save what I could and took them outside and planted them. My one-inch tall seedlings then died. It was a sad day. My grandma thinks maybe I moved them outside too early. I also know they're in a plot that gets a lot of shade {but that's where my brother-in-law put the plot and since he spent a LOT of time on it...I don't have the heart to ask him to move it!}...so we had absolutely no garden last year. I'm trying again...we'll see how this goes. Wish me luck!

Also, I started a fitness bootcamp yesterday. I only get 8 classes worth during the month {groupon deal} so it's not a ton of time...but 8 is better than nothing, right?! I can barely move today...it's ridiculous! But I'm hoping this well really help with this 'plateau' I have found myself on!

I've also noticed that I'm feeling a lot better lately. Maybe it's all in my mind...I don't know, but I've felt 'healthier, fresher, and lighter' since I've started this vegetarian thing. Maybe there is something to not eating meat. I considered trying the Paleo diet as I've heard a lot of good things about it {but this diet is the EXACT opposite of what I'm doing now - the main staple is meat in that diet!} The key to the paleo diet is that they want you to eat all grass-fed, cage-free meats...and unfortunately, I'm not sure my budget can afford that...so if I were to try this diet, it would probably be on regular store-bought meats and I'm not sure that's a good idea...so we'll have to see.

{'fried' quinoa}

So...this meal was really simple. But since I told you I'd blog about it, here I go. :) We had some fried rice flavor packets that we bought on sale a couple weeks ago {we're talking, quite a few}. I don't know the 'health' factor of these packets {any preservatives? etc.}...but I decided to use it anyways. {please note: I actually  made this meal in February, before I 'officially' started this experiment...so when/if I make the fried quinoa again, I'll attempt to make my own sort of fried rice flavoring...with the help of google, of course. :)} Anywho, I prepared the quinoa as per the instructions {just like rice - 1 cup quinoa, 2 cups water....bring to a boil and then let simmer for 15 minutes. piece of cake.} A little tip that I learned by researching quinoa recipes and reading through the comments on recipes {yeah. i'm one of those people...I love reading the comment section}...is to also add chicken {or beef if you prefer, I suppose} stock to the quinoa to take away some of that 'bitter' flavor. I say 'bitter'...because to me, it doesn't taste bitter. but some people think it does...and they say this helps mute that. So I usually add 1 cup chicken stock to it. {does using chicken stock count as eating meat?!?! Hmm. I should look into that... :)} Once the quinoa was ready, I added in some peas and carrots, as well as fried up an egg and added that in...and voila, I had my 'fried' quinoa! 

For someone that doesn't cook and has little experience in the kitchen arena {seriously, hate cooking}, this recipe was so simple and yet so delicious! I did take a picture...but it didn't look too pretty...so I decided not to post it. :) Since I made this in February before I started the no-meat thing, I actually cooked up some chicken and ate that with it as well. Don't worry, I won't be doing that during March...but haven't had this meal since then! It is definitely on my to-have-again list, though. If you have any ideas on how I could tweak this, I'm all ears! :)