Final Meal- Vegetarian Theme

Planning:

• I wanted to pick 3 dishes that are similar to things I have actually been cooking lately
• I had a lot of ingredients in my pantry and fridge I wanted to use-up, so I picked recipes that contain those items. Some of those staple items were:
• Red Onion
• Goat's Cheese
• Carrots
• Dried Figs
• Sweet Potatoes
• I made my grocery list and bought the few ingredients I needed to make these recipes (especially a lot of produce). 

Source: All recipes come from Dr. Hazel Wallace's cookbook called The Food Medic for Life

Course 1: Sweet Potato, Hazelnut + Goat’s Cheese Salad in a Pomegranate Dressing

To make this salad, I had to roast the sweet potatoes, saute the onions and broccoli, and make the dressing. Then I threw it all together!

I chose to use walnuts instead of hazelnuts, because that's what I had on-hand.

The end result turned out delicious and was very filling and satisfying. 

Course 2: Lentil Meatloaf

This was an interesting recipe, that pushed me out of my comfort zone. I had to finely chop all the veggies, cook the lentils, pulse some of the ingredients in a food processor, and then season and combine everything in a bread loaf tin. I then cooked it for an hour at 400 degrees, and let it cool. 

The final result was surprisingly delicious! I was expecting it to be a little bland, but it was actually so tasty and flavorful. I loved the different textures of the veggies and nuts. One issue was that the loaf was kinda crumbly, so it was difficult to actually slice it and serve it. I ended up having to eat it in a bowl. That being said, I'd still make this recipe again!

Course 3: Fig Roll Oat Bars

I had to mix the dried figs, raisins, oats, almonds, and other ingredients and spices in a bowl. I then put them in a food processor and pulsed them until they were all sticky. When I did this, the mixture ended up being very dry and didn't stick together well, so I decided to add some water (even though the recipe didn't ask for it). This definitely seemed to help. I then set the bars in the fridge for an hour to set, and then they were ready to go.

These bars are very tasty. I love the crunchy texture from the oats and nuts, and the different fruity tastes from the figs and raisins. Similar to the meatloaf though, they were very crumbly. I think that next time I make them I'll have to add even more water than I did. 

Nutritional Balance

Looking at all 3 of my dishes, I think this overall meal is pretty balanced. I have a good amount of fruits (pomegranate, figs, raisins, etc.), veggies (lettuce, carrots, celery, onions, sweet potatoes, broccoli, etc.), nuts (almonds, cashews), grains (oats, lentils), oils (olive oil), and even some dairy in the goat's cheese. Therefore, I think this is pretty well balanced. Obviously there isn't any meat, but that was the whole point of this meal, and I think the other ingredients make up for the lack of meat sufficiently.