Day 11- Recipe time!

So today I had work and then jiu jitsu. Some spring break, huh? BUT I got out of work early, and had just enough time to whip up a vegetarian chili! After browsing the Internet for recipes, I mashed them all together and came up with my own:

Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients:
- 3 bell peppers- 2 red, 1 orange

- 3 portobello mushroom caps

- one can of black beans, no salt added

- 1/4 cup of navy beans

- one large can diced tomatoes, no salt added

- basil

- oregano

- chili powder

- thai chili pepper

- garlic

- coconut oil, or cooking oil of your choice

- optional- fake meat product of your choice. I used Seitan, a meat substitute derived from the protein in wheat

Soak the navy beans overnight and boil in water until cooked. Saute the garlic, peppers, mushrooms, basil, oregano, chili powder, and thai chili pepper in the coconut oil between five and ten minutes. Add both sets of beans and the diced tomatoes. Turn the heat down and simmer for 30-40 minutes. Add the meat substitute of your choice last; typically, these products only need to be warmed, not cooked.

The amount of the spices and herbs are up to you. Mine are all in shakers so I just shook out what I thought would be okay. Add more thai chilis and/or chili powder for a spicier dish.

I try and avoid soy as a main source of protein, as I've heard it's not great to use as a staple in one's diet. It messes with your estrogen levels, which is bad regardless of gender. Additionally, I've been trying to use coconut oil when I cook. Coconut oil is the only one I know of that does not change into trans fats when heated. Trans fats raise your "bad" cholesterol, and raise your "good" cholesterol. You can read more about this here.

Diet Log

Breakfast: steel cut oats with protein powder

Snack: Vega vibrancy bar

Snack: cottage cheese, a few peanuts

Dinner: some vegetarian chili

I labeled the meals in between breakfast and dinner as snacks because I don't really consider them full meals. I forgot to bring lunch to work today, so I didn't have much of a chance to eat.

I should also mention that today was some of the best jiu jitsu training I've ever had. We did some awesome drills in class, and got to drill every possible position. Additionally, a brand new Manto rashguard came for me in the mail today, just before I left for BJJ. I wore it under my gi, and not only did I get compliments, but it is easily the most comfortable rashguard I've worn thus far. I'll do a review in a couple of entries so I can give a solid opinion.