Day 21

Guess what guys? I went to Whole Foods again to get a few things for a recipe I'm making tonight which is to follow, and naturally bought a couple of extras. I got:

Daiya Mozzarella Style Shreds

Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds

Bragg's Nutritional Yeast

Amy's Gluten and Dairy-free Mac and Cheese (it was on sale and it's SO good)

Boca Chick'n Patties (I had a coupon!)

Organic Vegetarian Refried Pinto Beans

Tofurky Pepperoni Pizza Pockets

I am beyond excited to try these.

I've been craving chicken soup so I also picked up some vegan chicken boullion.

But that's not the point of this post. I decided to make vegan au gratin potatoes and sautéed kale as some side dishes for dinner!

Au Gratin Potatoes, what you need:

5 red potatoes, washed

1 cup Daiya Cheddar Style Slices

1/2 cup Daiya Mozzarella Style Slices

3 tbsp vegan butter

3 tbsp all purpose flower

2 cups nondairy milk (I used almond)

1 tbsp onion powder

Salt and pepper to taste

What you do:

Slice the red potatoes very thin and layer them in a greased baking pan. I used Smart Balance Light, also my vegan butter substitute.

Continue layering evenly until all of your potatoes are in the pan. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Heat vegan butter in a saucepan. When it's melted, add in the flour and cook for one minute, continuously whisking. Once you've cooked some of the flour taste out of the roux, add in one cup of almond milk and whisk to incorporate. Add in your second cup and continue whisking until sauce thickens. Add in both cheeses and onion powder, remove from heat and stir until everything melts together. Your cheese sauce should look like this:

Season with salt and pepper and pour over your layered potatoes.

Bake at 400 degrees for 90 minutes, or until they are golden brown and crispy.

I also made a really easy (and delicious) kale that I found on a list of fit foods.

What you need:

1 bunch of washed, dried, de-stemmed and coarsely chopped kale

3 tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, sliced thin

1/2 cup vegetable stock

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

What you do:

Heat garlic in olive oil until soft, but not golden.

Add in kale and vegetable stock, toss to coat.

Cover and let cook for 7 minutes.

Remove lid and cook until liquid dissipates, about 5 minutes.

Add in salt, pepper and red wine vinegar.

And, finally, dinner. I just baked a Boca chick'n patty according to package directions and topped it with Frank's wing sauce and had it with my vegan ranch dressing from my post on Sunday. The verdict? The potatoes were really, really good. My non-vegan boyfriend had seconds of both the kale and potatoes. The kale was delicious, retained it's texture but softened and was seasoned perfectly.

They say it takes 21 days to break a habit, and I gotta say, I didn't miss cheese a single time today!