The Art of the Baked Potato

Day 11 on Engine 2. If you've been diligently following the Veganville blog, (my mommy won't even add herself as a follower), you would know by now what Engine 2 or E2 is without googling. Don't feel like googling? Just take a gander at Veganville's most recent blogs and you'll garner enough top secret information to understand the fundamentals of the E2 eating plan.

Yep, today is 11 with no sugar, flour or oil. Here's an update of how I feel, which includes the perks and the challenges.

Perks:
1. I have so much energy that I have appointed myself leader of the free world.
2. My skin is as soft as a baby's bottom that has been injected with botox.
3. My middle age tire tummy is almost flat.
4. I am less of a slug.
5. My brain is not as foggy as London town.
6. I get to call my jeans, "skinny jeans".
7. Those 2 stupid and annoying water pimples vanished.
8. Psycho boy is nicer- (this really should be top on the list of perks)
9. It's easier to choose what to have for dinner, since there is not much to choose from.
10. The food bill has decreased. If you fold the bill in half it will have a crease.

Challenges:
1. Initially it was hard to determine portion size. I don't think Rip the E2 fireman guy meant for me to eat 20 corn tacos in one sitting. Yes corn tacos are E2 approved food and Rip really doesn't indicate how many you should eat in one sitting. "Sitting" being the operative word here, if I continued on with those portion sizes my barrel tummy would never let me up.
2. Brownie edges! I always cut the edges off trays of PB brownies for orders. Those brownie edges are MINE! The rest of the tray is for your order. Okay, you can have the edges now.
3. When Swedish Fish are in the house.

Ooh look the perks outweigh the challenges. In all actuality me and crazy guy feel so much better that we plan to keep on keeping on with this. This plan does not feel like deprivation. It feels healthy and cathartic and we can differentiate between real exhaustion and sugar lethargy.

The other night we even had a baker party. A baker party is a perfect way to initiate non-vegans into the vegan fray. The food is recognizable and the toppings rock. I am bummed that no one thought of taking pics. We were having too good a time to stop for a photo op. I made 2 pots of awesome chili and 23 baked potatoes. If you really want to bake them, never put the potatoes in foil. That only steams them. Way back when, I used to hang in a jazz club in Los Angeles that served all kinds of stuffed baked potatoes. It was called "The Baked Potato"!

I made a dessert buffet that included Sam Sam loaf, cookies, voopees, 3 different Rice Dream ice creams, almond mousse, and chocolate mousse. We had friends bring potato toppers. There was so much we could eat on E2 that Larry and I were even full. Don't worry we'll have another baker party for MoFo and post pics and a chili recipe then. In the meantime, here is sugar free mousse.

Almond Mousse

1 silken tofu
1/4 C almond butter
2 T agave

Add ingredients to food processor and well...process. Refrigerate. Enjoy.

The Perfect Potato

1 - 1000's of potatoes, scrubbed not peeled
canola spray
sea salt to taste
seasoning of choice




http://www.thebakedpotato.com/

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Spray scrubbed potatoe(s) and sprinkle with sea salt and seasoning of choice. Bake 1/2 hour, then flip potatoes over and cook another 1/2 hour. Take them out of the oven. The outsides will be crispy and the insides will be fluffy. Like me :) 
The bottom line is we feel good! I intend to bring this plan all the way through October. I would love for you to join me on it. Remember, you are not alone on this journey. Here's to your health!What's your favorite baker topper?