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Meatless Monday No. 5 – Simply Sabra

Today’s Meatless Monday dinner (and lunch, for that matter!) was once again partially courtesy of Sabra. (As I mentioned in last week’s post, just recently one of their representatives was kind enough to send me several coupons for their retail products to help me out with my Meatless Monday experiment – for which I am very grateful indeed!)

I really enjoyed the Spinach and Artichoke Hummus I had last week, but just for the sake of variety I thought I’d give a new flavour a try this time. Because several people (both in person and via comments on my earlier blog post) had recommended the Supremely Spicy Hummus, I had decided that would be next on the list, so I picked up a container while purchasing my dinner ingredients this afternoon. Wow, is it ever good! It certainly lives up to the “supremely spicy” part of its name, so if you love hot food (as I do), you will want to give this hummus a try. It was part of a quick and easy (and meatless!) lunch that left my mouth with a nice, lingering warmth.

For dinner, though, I decided to make a little more effort and try out Sabra’s recipe for Black Bean & Goat Cheese Tacos.

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I was seriously delighted to get my hands on a package of Sabra guacamole, as last week when I’d been searching I’d had no luck finding it at any of several different venues. As I later discovered, the product is just now being rolled out to Canadian stores, which would explain the scarcity; however, my quest was successful today – the shelves at Zehr’s were well stocked with it!

One thing I thought I’d point out about this recipe is that the list of ingredients doesn’t include butter, while the recipe instructions do; however, I suspect that’s an ingredient most people have in the house, so it shouldn’t really be a problem. And yes, I know that you’re supposed to read a recipe through before starting to cook – which I did! – so you probably would have caught this omission then. Still, I thought I’d draw your attention to it just in case you missed it.

When I put this recipe together I chose refried pinto beans over black (the recipe offered both as options), and left the jalapeños off my husband’s portion (he’s come a long way in his appreciation for hot and spicy food, but unfortunately his love doesn’t extend to jalapeños!). Oh, and I didn’t use butter – I used what we had in the house, which was olive oil margarine – but other than that, I followed the recipe as shown.

And this was the result – at least, my half of it!

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I prepared the whole recipe, even though there were just two of us, as this was all we were having for dinner (plus Peter hadn’t had any lunch). It was quick and easy to put together, and took around eight minutes to cook (just enough time to tidy the kitchen after the food prep). Peter managed to get through all four of his tacos – just barely! – but I had only three and couldn’t even start on the fourth. It certainly wasn’t because they weren’t good – they were delicious! They were just very, very filling and I was absolutely stuffed with three. I think if I were to make this dish again for only the two of us, I’d cut the recipe in half and serve the tacos with a green salad.

With this meal I used up the last of my Sabra coupons, but it certainly won’t be the last time I use their products, as everything I’ve tried to date has been wonderful. The hummus is creamy, the salsa tangy, the guacamole rich, and everything incredibly flavourful. While the Sabra salsa is perhaps a tiny bit more expensive than the kind you can buy in a jar, as far as I’m concerned there is really no taste comparison – the Sabra variety has an incredible flavour that makes most bottled salsas just taste bland.

Thanks, Sabra!

I must say, I think my Meatless Monday experiment is going rather well – and I’m a little bit proud of myself for sticking with it for five weeks now. Knowing that my blog readers are out there really does help to keep me accountable, so thank you for your support as I venture into the world of meatless cooking (or really, cooking at all!). I think Peter may be grateful as well. 🙂

On a different, but somewhat related note, I am trying to think of a way I can draw on this kind of accountability and support to kickstart a health and fitness habit, hand in hand with my Meatless Monday experiment. Maybe it could even be something several like-minded people could do together – starting with a pre-holiday challenge, perhaps? I am desperate to start eating better and getting into shape, but lately am finding it difficult to stick to anything with only myself to answer to. Since I spend so much time online and with my blog, maybe I can use it to be successful in this area as well! I’ll have to give it a little more thought, but would appreciate any ideas you could throw my way.

Thank you, and hope you had a great Monday!

Are you participating in Meatless Monday?
What did you make for dinner tonight?

NaBloPoMo October 2013

Laurel Storey, CZT – Certified Zentangle Teacher. Writer, reader, tangler, iPhoneographer, cat herder, learner of French and Italian, crocheter, needle felter, on-and-off politics junkie, 80s music trivia freak, ongoing work in progress.