Mission Accomplished? Maybe Not.

So, Meatless Monday was both a success and a failure this week. Yes, we had a meal without meat and it was delicious. Success! Was it nutritionally balanced? Not really. Long ago I came to the realization that cutting out a particular food group does not magically make you healthier. Yesterday's meal reiterated that fact for me.

I made No Guilt Cheese Enchiladas: SparkRecipes Un-Chained Recipe Contest Finalist. The recipe sounded a little bland so I added some taco seasoning to the cheese filling mixture. It was awesome. But what's in it? Cheese and tortilla. A few (very few) chiles. So no veggies. Delicious, but how far can you ride nutritionally on cheese? Yes, cheese has calcium and some protein. What it doesn't have is all those vitamins and minerals we get from the vast array of fruits and veggies available.

The verdict: it's good, it's meatless AND it's only 241 calories per serving. Now to figure out how to cram some nutrition in there. Maybe I could hide some spinach in the enchiladas. Do you think the kids would notice?

I did make brown rice; replacing some of the water with tomato sauce. I added onions and corn. Does that at least count for veggies? What else could I add to rice? Poor rice. I'm putting the weight of our balanced nutrition on its shoulders. It must be feeling the pressure as I type.  I had Meatless Monday, but I do not feel that I have eaten my veggies. Have I failed? Not technically. :)

I still have visitors in my home, and it looks as if they may be here a while. I am fine with that. What I AM having a hard time with is their love of junk food. It's making old monsters rise up in me urging me to scratch itches that haven't itched in a while. There it is. Staring at me. The yummedness (I should totally trademark that word.) I know it's not good for me, but is that enough to keep me away? So far so good, but only time will tell. Now excuse me while I go to the kitchen and get a mid afternoon snack that does NOT include chocolate....