Last month I added up how much we spent on eating out, screamed, fainted dead away, and promptly set up a monthly “eating out budget,” which of course we blew by July 9th. It’s going to be a long month spent slaving away in the kitchen…

Although last night I felt burnt out from cooking after an elaborate breakfast and lunch, so we dined on fish sticks, leftover polenta pizza, cheese and crackers.

Clearly we can do better.

This is an opportunity to enjoying some delicious home-cooked meals!

Here are some quick, vegetarian, gluten-free and (mostly) figure friendly recipes I’d like to try this month:

– Chilled Cantaloupe Soup
– Spinach, Apple, and Walnut Salad
– Swiss Chard With Chickpeas & Couscous (substituting quinoa for the couscous to be gluten-free)
– Thai Spiced Tofu
– Honey-Balsamic Bean Salad
– Wild Seaweed Salad Recipe
– Skinny Omelette Recipe
– Arugula Salad with Strawberries
– Blueberry Corn Salad
– Crunchy Peanut Slaw

We will also probably cook up these familiar standbys:

– Make your own burrito bar (pictured above)
– Potato and spinach frittata
– Vegetable coconut curry
– Golden spice rice with chickpeas
– Split pea soup
– Tempeh reubens
– Pasta tossed with veggies and cheese (see top photo)
– Grilled veggies, tempeh, burgers, fruit, pizza…

For those days when I just can’t come up with any cooking ideas on my own, I have this master list of recipes that we enjoy, as well as a binder full of recipes with gorgeous glossy photos ripped from magazines and printed from the internet. For inspiration. For reference. For quick and easy suggestions.

Nevertheless, every now and then we have peanut butter and jam sandwiches (on rice cakes) cause it’s just one of those days… we are trying so hard to resist the temptation to head out to grab a quick bite at a neighborhood restaurant (like we used to do all the time). So far, we’re doing good.

(By the way, I wrote this yesterday before Amanda’s kitchen post. Great minds think alike! In this one instance I am glad that I only have time to blog during Miss Leyba’s naps and couldn’t post it until today.)

I love coming up with a great excuse to bake with Miss Leyba. Today’s reason for throwing caution to the wind and eating some processed (but oh so delicious) sugar? Our favorite gluten-free chocolate brownie mix was on sale!

We’re all about the ultimate fudge brownie. And licking the spoon. After all, it’s terribly important to taste test while baking to ensure your treat is turning out right… just ask Miss Leyba!

Tired of spending $6 a pint on the most delicious vegan ice cream on the planet, Coconut Bliss? We certainly were, so David bought me an ice cream maker for our anniversary and I’ve developed a vegan coconut milk ice cream recipe that could rival the professionals.

This isn’t just for vegans, this recipe is for everyone. Coconut milk is extremely creamy and delicious, even if it is not exactly figure friendly. (At least it’s good for you coconut milk fat! Perfect for breastfeeding mothers!) You’d never know there wasn’t any dairy involved.

Here’s our recipe:

Mix together:

28 fl oz (2 cans) original coconut milk (none of the low fat mumbo jumbo)

1/2 cup raw agave nectar (perhaps a little less… please let me know what you think!)

2 tablespoons vanilla extract and/or as much of a vanilla bean as you can afford (I typically use 1/3 of a bean)

Pop it in your ice cream maker for 25 minutes, then chill in the freezer.

Remove from the freezer and allow it to soften for about 10 minutes before serving.

Yield: approximately 1 quart

Enjoy!

Grapefruit and avocado salad on a bed of arugula and cilantro with pear dressing served with last nights dinner. So simple! So yummy! We are SO going to make it again soon. (Inspired by this Domino recipe!)

Btw, check out our new love: Missy Higgins. David recently discovered this wonderful Australian musician. We’ve bought a cd and are so hooked. You can hear her most recent disc online at her website. Check it out!

p.s. What do you think of our new layout?! Expect lots of tweaking.