Finding my path!

So I'm off of the Raw diet and looking to figure some things out.  I hope/plan/want to return to the raw diet but It will not be immediately.  To all of this I say, "I make apology's." I learned this from my hero Carl Paladino (Please not sarcasm!) Well I am ok with my choice and like I said def not done with it.  But while I'm not 100% Raw I am still cooking and trying to develop a healthy vegetarian diet.  I'm trying to cool with all whole grain foods, artificial sweeteners and stevia and seeing how it impacts my sugar and weight.

I'll star off by including two things I've good in the last few days! Both recipes are from Meatless Meals by Barbara E. Echols

The other day I made My Granola page 282.

My Granola

3 1/2 cups rolled oats

1 cup bran

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup chopped cashews

1/4 cup tahini
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup honey
1 cup diced dried apricots or any dried fruit

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Combine the oats, bran, sunflower seeds, and nuts in a bowl, Add the tahini, salt, extract, cinnamon, and honey. Mix well.
3. Spread the mixture in a shallow baking pan and toast for 30 minutes, stirring after the first 15 minutes.
4. Remove the pan from the oven and toss immediately with the dried fruit  to prevent the mixture from sticking together in lumps, When cooled, store in a covered container.

I've made this granola many times over the years.  I'm going to try to make it in the dehydrator next time because if the mixture burns even a little bit it impacts the granola.  I'll get back to you on how that turns out.

Next I made Meatless Meatloaf from the same cookbook page 155.

Meatless Meatloaf

1/4 vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup any combination of mixed vegetables and cooked beans ( used frozen mixed vegetables.)
1 cup finely chopped nuts or 1 cup chunky peanut butter
1 cup cooked rice (I used brown)
1/3cup bread crumbs (Whole wheat)
1 cup grated cheese
2 eggs lightly beaten
black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat the  oil in a skillet and saute the vegetables till they are limp.
3. Combine the sauteed vegetables with the remaining ingredients. Mix well, adding a small amount of liquid if the mixture seems too dry.
4. Pour the mixture into a greased loaf pan and bake for 40 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

This is delicious.  It's great hot or cold.  I promise you will like it. My dad, when he was alive,  ate this and didn't hate it.  For him that is a ringing endorsement.  He was very much a meat and potatoes man. The funny thing about my dad was that, even though he was not very fond of a lot of my cooking, he always wanted me to become a chef.  Maybe I missed my calling.