A Junk Food Makeover Attempt

I grew up in the middle of Michigan in a little place called Bay City. My mom, who taught school and worked like a woman posessed, always had something on the table every weeknight by 6:00. God, I don't know how she did it without snapping. I love cooking, but I think part of the reason I love it is because I have never really had to do it. It's always been a choice, not a duty. I would go from zero to bitch in 4 seconds flat if I had to feed two whiny kids and a picky eater husband every bloody night by 6:00.

But I digress with this bitch tangent.

So one of my favorite things my mom used to slap together was Sloppy Joes. My brother and I loved those things. She made 'em real nasty, too, with the hamburger and the mystery package of pre-selected unidentified seasonings. They would leave a bright orange greaseprint on the requisite all white bread hamburger buns. There was no whole wheat anything in the 60's in the middle of Michigan. That stuff was for hippies. If we really wanted to go wild, we could add a slice of Velveeta.

My mission tonight was to concoct a healthy vegan version of the Sloppy Joe. I found a recipe on one of my favorite websites that features super healthy vegan stuff.
Here's the link: http://www.fatfreevegan.com/search/search.pl?Terms=sloppy+lentils
It's called Sloppy Lentils (could she have come up with a more lackluster name? I don't think so). I made some vegan coleslaw and had it as a condiment. Then instead of Wonder Buns, (wow, we really are what we eat) I used toasted whole wheat pitas.



I would give it a solid 85. Flavors and spices and texture were good, but I would tweak it next time. I would saute a couple tablespoons of tomato paste in with the onions and bell peppers and I would find a way to add about a tablespoon of some kind of fat to the recipe, which is completely fat-free as is. The coleslaw was just a regular coleslaw recipe, but with tofu sour cream and Vegenaise instead of mayo and dairy. That was delish, and only about 95 calories for a generous serving.

By the way, I'm not a perfect vegan. I eat a bit of cheese and an occasional egg. I don't dislike the taste of meat--I just feel 100% better when I'm not eating it. Just doing the best I can. I will not get on a soapbox about it, because that would mean I'm annoying and I wouldn't want my friends to disappear one by one.