Quick and Easy "Burger" Night

Healthiest Burger I've Ever Eaten

There are a couple responses we hear repeatedly about eating like we have been the past 2 1/2 weeks. One response has to do with the fact that the speaker would consider a vegan diet - at least for a similar 4 week diet - but it would be difficult to accomplish with a partner who has no interest in sharing the experience. LG and I talked this one over and we agree that it would be far more difficult going it solo when your housemate is still eating and drinking the usual stuff. It's certainly possible, but it would be a  much greater challenge. I think, though, that if an uninterested spouse could have joined us in a meal like we had last night, (s)he might feel differently. Our "burgers" are the black bean chipotle ones from Costco, the buns are very thin, no sugar added, very low fat whole grain by Orowheat. We used the Yumm sauce from the other night, fresh sliced tomatoes, red onion finely shredded with our new kitchen toy, mung bean spouts, arugula, sliced red bell pepper and some lightly cooked yellow squash. A second common reason people tell us for not wanting to try this diet is that they don't have time to do all the meal preparation. A few of the things we've made did take a while, but this whole meal, including slicing and dicing, took us less than 20 minutes...and it was really good!  You may recall that LG had previously declined these "burger" patties because of the high-moderate sodium level, but she relented for one night and we both really enjoyed the meal. A person could eat two of these sandwiches and still take in far fewer calories, fat grams, sweeteners, cholesterol, antibiotics and sodium than any single fast food burger.

Our feathered fan club

I just finished cleaning yesterday's contribution from "The Girls"...our six and half redhead live-ins. After a brief mention in yesterday's blog, LG and I feel they deserve a more thorough introduction to my readers. Their lovely brown gems vary in size from the infrequent large-olive-size pullet egg to the much more common never-seen-in-the-market super jumbos. As much as we appreciate their efforts, we still have a week and half before we can add them back into our diet. We haven't actually told them we're not eating their handiwork, so please don't mention it to them if you come by to visit. The "1/2" redhead is our "inside girl" who has been feigning her "last days on earth" for the past 6 months (about a quarter century in chicken years.) She stays inside the coop 24/7, never lays any eggs but seems to consume far more than her share of layer pellets. Smart girl.

Sm'eggs

Instead of a fresh egg or two, this morning's breakfast was another of LG's unending delicious variations of cooked grains and fruit. We have a number of Engine 2 authorized dry cereals that I'd be perfectly happy with from time-to-time, but I'm not going to complain about LG's insistence on a "nice hot breakfast" every day. Thanks, lover. There are always leftovers for lunch, or another burger takes only a few minutes to construct.

I had a minor setback in my "always satisfied" status yesterday. Seems I got busy on the ongoing construction of our nearly complete wine room, attending the feathered girls and a shopping foray to Lacey. I kind of forgot to eat through the middle of the day. When LG arrived home, she shooed me away from my work in the garage and into the kitchen where, after a few minutes, she shoved a banana in my mouth and told me I was "kind of grumpy...sweetie." Now, there are a number of things one might say to someone whose blood sugar has dropped to zero. The grumpy thing...not one of the best. I handled it with great patience and aplomb, of course. She just barely missed swatting my protruding tongue with the wooden spoon she was using to stir the simmering squash. You'd think her blood sugar was low or something...some people! I learned a lesson. Don't allow myself to get too hungry or LG gets very testy. I've forgiven her.

Well, I have a long list of things to get done and I dare not disappoint LG and her wooden spoon. She might forget to eat her lunch...and you know how she gets!