Day 3 - Tacos saved the day!

I'm a texture girl. I have always despised foods with texture resembling that of refried beans and oatmeal. My dad loved Cream of Wheat and I would gag just looking at it. I know, however, that oatmeal is a healthy meal that I should be having at breakfast time. Like I said before, I'm also not a breakfast fan. Yeah, I know. It's the most important meal of the day. Blah blah blah

Well, if I'm starting off right, then I'm going to put my past feelings away and try to be positive and forward thinking. The five-minute oatmeal power bowl by Oh She Glows. How bad could this be? After all, I'm making it from scratch and it's not coming out of a box or being done in the microwave. Plus it could be made in five minutes and let's face it, I like my sleep more than I like food in the morning so this was a plus. The night before, I mashed a banana until it resembled some sort of smooth nature, and then stirred in chia seeds, oats, cinnamon, almond milk and a little bit of water. I then put this mush to bed in the fridge overnight. 

This morning, feeling hopeful, I scooped the mush into a pan and heated it on medium-high, brought it to a simmer, reduced it to medium-low and stirred so it would be heated through and thickened. I slopped it, I mean, poured it, into a bowl and added some more cinnamon. Cinnamon definitely wouldn't hurt.

I took a bite and just about gagged. Not because it tasted bad. It tasted just fine but the texture was absolutely disgusting. I gave it to Hubs to try and he said it was good and that it tasted like oatmeal. Well, there ya go! Proof that I still despise oatmeal. I just have a problem with eating something that looks and feels like it's already been consumed and spit back out. The photo didn't help any - it looks like green bean casserole which I also do not like.

 But, nevertheless, I committed to this challenge (and I hate wasting) so I ate the oatmeal.

 Well, almost all of it. Hubs finished the rest.

Thinking it couldn't get worse than oatmeal, I was hopeful for today's lunch.

The Quinoa Green Goddess Bowl.

Now, finally a WFPB (whole food plant based) dish that actually looks pretty!

Quinoa, steamed kale and sweet potatoes, diced red pepper with a homemade tahini and cilantro dressing. I want to like this so badly but I don't. Again, Hubs liked it and will eat the vat of it that I made.  Perhaps it's a quinoa texture thing. It was pretty bland too and I love flavor!

At this point, I'm really starting to get depressed and questioning myself. WTH am I doing? I love food. I love flavorful food. I love pairing wine with food. I love taking a bite and being so excited or comforted that I just moan. I can cook just about anything but when put in a plant-based bubble, where all is new to me, I'm at a loss.

But again, I don't waste, so I sucked down the lunch I packed and drank a ton of water afterwards. This recipe will NOT be going in the "save" pile.

Honestly, I'm feeling pretty defeated at this point and just hope that dinner is fathomable. I found a recipe for vegan fajitas and just altered it a tad. I was hopeful.

I sauteed portobello mushrooms, black beans, red pepper strips, red onion, cumin, garlic and red pepper flakes in vegetable broth. A mixture of liquid aminos, rice vinegar and something else I can't even remember was then poured over it as it simmered.

In the meantime, I made my own salsa (which I often do anyway) of red onion, tomatoes, cilantro, jalapeno, garlic and a splash of lime juice - squeezed from a lime; not the bottled crap.

It was smelling good and I was starting to get a tad bit optimistic. I threw a corn tortilla in a dry skillet on both sides and then made two tacos for Hubs. Then I made myself two tacos. A ton of avocado on top, of course! After one bite, we both knew this would be a recipe that ends up in the weekly rotation. After today, it may be the ONLY thing that gets me through the next 27 days!

We love tacos. I often make them at home with pulled chicken, pork carnitas or beef barbacoa.

We love Bad Bean Baja Grill restaurant which we can ride our bikes to as well as the Outer Banks Taco Bar. Even our little golf course Sandtrap Tavern has black bean tacos with a crema that is yummy and we choose at happy hour regardless of this challenge.

Had these tacos turned out poorly, I would have been completely crushed.

But, tacos will never fail me.
They never let me down.
They have always been that one stable food force for me.
Even through this challenge, tacos saved Day 3!
All hail the power of the taco!