Card No. 1 - Become a Vegetarian For An Entire Week! (Part 1)

My sister unwittingly laid down a pretty substantial challenge when she picked out card 1 of my 52 Thinks in 52 Weeks challenge! Becoming a vegetarian for an entire week was something I hadn't expected to have to do so early in 2015 but I guess that's the beauty of a blind draw every Sunday! I'm not one for sharing photos of my dinner or anything but I guess the idea of this blog is to keep a track of how all the different tasks are going!

I have to be honest... I wasn't looking forward to this week but now, more than halfway through, it actually ain't so bad! As someone who builds pretty much every meal around the delicious meaty bit, it meant making a few changes! Four days in however and I haven't cracked... not yet anyhow! 

I was feeling sorry for myself on Sunday night when I was reminded that the week doesn't officially kick off 'til Midnight. That was at 11.30 and by 11.45 I'd raided the fridge and inhaled all the chicken, ham and whatever else I could get my hands on! That's one way to bring on the meat sweats!

Monday was the first proper day back at work. It was also the day my little sis went back to London after the holidays. I'd promised that I'd bring her for lunch to 37 West to try their legendary Chicken Melt. I'd walk miles for that sandwich and was looking really forward to it until she turned me into a vegetarian! I can however heartily recommend their Goats Cheese & Roasted Vegetable Wrap! She had the melt just to rub it in! Having looked up a tonne of vegetarian recipes I was wondering what to do for dinner 'til my deadly housemate Cáit announced she was making a Lentil Curry. Sorted! Delicious it was too!

The rest of the week has been a breeze. Breakfast isn't normally a time when I lay into a cooked ham so I guess it kinda looked after itself!

Lunch has been a mix of carrot & chilli soup and wraps of varying degrees of success. Practice makes perfect I guess and think I cracked the vegetarian wrap recipe with a custom creation in the Gourmet Tart Company today! (If I do say so myself!)

Dinners have been a little more tricky. I had great intentions to create a couple of vegetarian masterpieces this week but there's time yet! Tuesday was my first effort at a Sweet Potato, Chickpea and Spinach mash. Probably looked better than it tasted but I'm determined to perfect it! (It'll have Chorizo in it next time too!). Wednesday was looked after by the good folks in the Oslo who do a kick ass vegetarian Lentil Dahl. I'd love to say that I created something spectacular for Thursday's edition but... eh... I made a particularly good beans on toast instead! I blame time constraints! :-)

So... 4 days down. Just another 3 to go in Round 1 of a 52 Round marathon!

There'll be another card pulled on Sunday. Hopefully I'll be able to tell ye what it is without also having to admit I succumbed to a quarter pounder with cheese in the meantime!!