Oh PW, I Have Sinned Against Thee

Previously, I have extolled the virtues of PW's Artichoke Spaghetti. 

Go find it here. 

A simple recipe, perfect for after church when you stand in your kitchen wondering what delicious thing you can throw together in a very short amount of time, i.e. before the hungry urchins arrive. Boil spaghetti, open a few cans, and mix together for a quick and easy meal. I always make sure I have a can of artichokes hidden in the back of the pantry. I would never have eaten artichokes when I was a kid, but if you mush them up a bit, they hide in between the noodles. No complaints.

Where's the sin? Well, I'm telling you, Big Wide World Web, that I've gone crunchy. As in VEGAN. Most of the time, like 90%. 

How did this happen? 

I've been hanging out in the 140's for awhile now and was really close to meeting the 150. While that is pretty average for my height and body type, it is 25 pounds more than I have carried around my entire adult life. I was blessed with a metabolism that kept me lean and mean. Not any more. 

Four new kids in four years. And the sleepless nights that came with the territory took their toll. Waiting for Joshua did me in. I was up late researching, reading blogs, older child adoption, and needed that fourth meal to keep me going. And really, isn't bread an excuse to eat butter?

I tried the treadmill. Haven't cultivated that habit quite yet. But decided something had to change.

While my husband was gone on a mission trip to Appalachia, I had a few too many late night dates with Net*flix. Streaming. Like instant watch whatever you can find in the privacy of your own laptop and I got hooked on the food shows.

I decided to give up animal products for awhile, especially dairy.

You can imagine how that went over with the dairy farmer. Not.

Results are in. I feel better. I also dropped about 6-7 pounds in the first two weeks. I haven't gotten reacquainted with the 130's yet but they are in sight. Seems like exercise may be the key there.

The sin? I took PW's Artichoke Spaghetti With Tomatoes and modified the recipe to make it without animal products. Gasp, I know.

My ingredient list:

Olive oil (used a little extra instead of the butter)
Garlic and onions
Diced tomatoes
Artichoke Hearts
Almond Milk
Vegetable Broth
Nutmeg
Sea salt and Pepper
Thin Whole Grain Spaghetti
Ground Cashews (Looked just like Parmesan Cheese)
White Beans Canned

The kids had no clue about the cashews. They loved it. Joshua had three helpings.

I got away with the substitutions. This time. I won't add the white beans again.

Don't mind the plate, we support the paper industry big time around here. 

With one of Cora's delicious salads, we had a quick and easy dinner after church. 

And that was probably more than you needed to know. 

I'm sorry, Pioneer*Woman. I had to do it. But I still love you very much.

Stay tuned for my first ever triple-take giveaway later this week.