The shopping trip...

Last night I started off with my first vegan shopping trip. I went to Whole Foods in North Andover in between school and a city council meeting. I bought the ingredients for two recipes I found on the Whole Foods website:

WHITE BEAN AND SPINACH SALAD

Serves 4 to 6

With so few ingredients, this salad is surprisingly substantial thanks to the protein and fiber of the beans and big flavors from red onion and a bold Dijon dressing. This is an excellent cold side salad for grilled meals or sandwiches.

Ingredients

3 cups cooked no-salt-added cannellini beans (from 2 (15-ounce) cans beans, drained and rinsed)

1 small red onion, quartered and thinly sliced

4 cups tightly packed fresh spinach leaves (about 1/4 pound), tough stems removed

2 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Method

In a large mixing bowl combine beans and onion. Slice spinach into thin ribbons and add to the beans.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together mustard, vinegar and Italian seasoning. Pour dressing over the bean mixture and stir to combine all ingredients. Serve immediately or chill until ready to use.

Nutrition

Per serving (about 6oz/168g-wt.): 170 calories (5 from fat), 1g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 200mg sodium, 32g total carbohydrate (12g dietary fiber, 1g sugar), 10g protein

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2856

SESAME PEANUT NOODLES

Serves 4

Serve this colorful noodle dish at room temperature or chilled.

Ingredients

1 (8-ounce) package 100% whole grain soba noodles

2 cups snow peas, strings removed

2 tablespoons roasted, unsalted, unsweetened smooth peanut butter or almond butter

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon reduced sodium tamari

1 tablespoon sesame tahini

1/8 teaspoon crushed red chile pepper

1 1/2 cups shredded carrots

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 cup sliced green onions

3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Method

Cook soba noodles according to package directions. Add snow peas with 1 minute cooking time remaining. Drain noodles and snow peas thoroughly.

In a large bowl, whisk together peanut butter, vinegar, tamari, tahini and crushed red pepper. Add a splash of warm water if needed to thin the sauce so it will coat the vegetables and noodles. Add noodles, snow peas, carrots, bell pepper, green onions and sesame seeds. Toss to coat noodles and vegetables thoroughly with sauce. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Nutrition

Per serving: 420 calories (100 from fat), 11g total fat, 0.5g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 260mg sodium, 63g total carbohydrate (9g dietary fiber, 11g sugar), 13g protein

I also bought some soy milk, almond butter, peanut butter, yams, lettuce, tomatoes, tangerines, apples, red peppers, egg-free bread, blueberry jam, 3 cans of Whole Food brand soup, and a couple of Amy’s Organic frozen vegan dinner. The produce we definitely more expensive than Market Basket, but I don’t usually buy organic there, where all the produce I got last night was organic. The Amy’s frozen dinner for lunch better be delicious because it was $4.99 which I think is pretty pricey for a frozen dinner.

My total bill came to $103.36 which is way more than I ever spent on groceries for one person, but in defense of Whole Foods, many of the ingredients that I bought for the two recipes will be able to be used again.

I am going to try to make both recipes tonight and have one for dinner and then one for lunch tomorrow.