Milestone Hit!

This week was a great week!  First, my sister and I were reunited with our half brother, whom we have not seen or heard from in about 20 years! We have searched and searched for him for years and this week finally found him.  We chatted on the phone the other night and it was so good to hear his voice and be able to tell him how thrilled we were to have him back in our lives.  He was happy about our reunion as well.  My heart is full of gratitude and a piece of my heart healed.  Thank you Lord!

Another exciting thing that happened this week was that I hit a major milestone with my weight loss.  My sweetie and I weigh in every Saturday morning at Publix (in front of God and everybody!).  Last week, I was bummed because I didn't lose any weight but was happy for Rennie that he lost five pounds.  Today, on the drive there, I prayed, "Please God, let me hit that milestone, PLEASE"!!!  My prayers were answered and I was one pound under that goal weight.  I haven't been this far down the scale in over five years.  Happy...very happy!  Oh, and I was able to console Rennie because he didn't lose anything this week.  The tables were turned. Hopefully next week, we'll both be in the weight loss category. 

Recipe Time
While there are tons of vegan recipes on line and in cookbooks, Rennie and I have had fun creating our own dishes.  Since we LOVE black bean burgers and have yet to find a recipe that meets our dietary needs, we decided to create a black bean wrap (photos to come soon as soon as we make another one).  The other recipe we call, Vegan Veggie Italian Stew, is our favorite "pot-o-meal".

Here is the recipe (using only organic ingredients or local fresh veggies):

Knopf Vegan Italian Stew

• 16 oz of pureed tomatoes
• 1 - can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1 - can of red beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1 - can of garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1 large box or two cans of vegetable broth
• 2 sweet onions, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2-3 carrots, chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• Fresh corn taken off 3 ears 
• Fresh okra cut up
• 2 small sweet potatoes, chopped
• 2 medium zuchinni, chopped
• 1 small head of broccoli, chopped ends only
• In a food processor process the following and add to the stew pot: 6 Roma tomatoes
• 1-2 tablespoons Himalayan salt
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground pepper 
• Did I say you needed everything but the kitchen sink??

Combine all the ingredients in a large stock pot - bring to a boil stirring frequently.  Cover the pot with a lid and turn the heat to low or simmer for 30-45 minutes or more.  The longer the simmer, the better the flavor.  Add more spices for your taste.

Once we serve the stew in a bowl, we add a half of a chopped avocado and some slivered almonds.  Yummo!  

Store the remaining stew in the fridge or freezer.  You can eat off this for days!

Until next time...
~Pamela