I Cooked Vegetarian Tonight -- My Cat is P-O!

Jazzberry

Jazzberry

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One of my cats is pacing back and forth in front of the kitchen sink throwing dirty looks at me.

I just finished cooking and I only made vegetarian dishes tonight. No meat, chicken or fish tidbits for her. That is what she usually gets when I do my marathon cooking once or twice a week. She is not happy! :laugh2: I gave her some kibble instead, but she is still not happy.

I on the other hand am very happy! I just made a huge pot of something new (hot and smokey black bean stew) and it must have come out to about 12 cups and per the recipe its only 4 servings, of about 350 calories each and a decent amount of protein also (16 grams).

I have to cut back on my calories but I do like to eat a lot. So probably the best solution is to learn how to like fruits and vegetables more.

The food is too hot to really taste now (temperature wise), besides its too late to eat. I'll let you know if it was worth the effort later in the week.

It really was a pain in the neck to make. I wanted a lower salt and less gassy version so I prepared my own beans. I hate gas so I soaked it for a few days, and I brought it to a boil 3 separate times changing the water each time before finally allowing it to finish cooking. (I got the idea from doing all that from this link.) Then I still had to cook it again in the stew. The black beans look more like brown beans right now but I don't care about the color. However, it just hit me that I might have cooked away a lot of protein, vitamins and minerals along with the bean sugars that cause gas. :eek3:

I might use canned beans next time. :hmm:
 
I am allergic to fish but used to cook it for my cat, I put it in the microwave using tongs and then let it cool without opening the door, then gave it to the cat as a treat. :)
 
wow, I admire you for prepping your own beans. I love beans <and use them as a main protein source> in stews and chili but get the canned ones-
 
Simon, that's a good idea for your kitty! Cats biologically have a higher protein need than dogs do, though both are carnivores-
 
SimonJ said:
I am allergic to fish but used to cook it for my cat, I put it in the microwave using tongs and then let it cool without opening the door, then gave it to the cat as a treat. :)
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That was very nice of you! I'm not that generous with my cats. They only get cat food except the younger one who usually wants a bit of whatever I'm having -- as long as it's non-vegetarian.

The older one is a rescue and wants nothing to do with people food. I guess it reminds him of the old days when he had to scavange.
 
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dogmom said:
wow, I admire you for prepping your own beans. I love beans <and use them as a main protein source> in stews and chili but get the canned ones-
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Well, I may do the same most of the time if it doesn't give me gas.

The soaking part wasn't bad, after all the beans could soak on its own -- it didn't need me! I did change the water a couple of times but that just took a minute.

Watching the pot until it started to boil three times in a row was a pain. I don't think I'll do that again, I don't have the patience for it.

I've been reading a little more about beans and digestion. A few articles pointed out that beans that are completely broken down don't give anyone gas. So that includes falafel, hummus and refried beans. So my guess is that if the beans are cooked until they are extremely soft that would make a big diffference also. Perhaps they won't have the texture they are suppose to have, but as long as everything ends up tasting good and they don't live up to their rep as the "musical fruit", that will work for me! And if that doesn't work then perhaps I'll try using refried beans instead of beans in whatever recipe requires them. I think refried beans would work in what I made last night.

I also just found out that Brazil has beans listed as its own food group on their version of the food pyramid, it is that healthy. So, I'll give it a few weeks to figure this out.

ETA: I also just found out that it works to cook up a whole bunch at once and freeze whatever you don't need for later. Instead of opening up a can, you have the option to open up a freezer container. I'll probably try that also.
 
VacationGuy234 said:
Obviously, the cat didn't choose vegetarianism. Just sayin...
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:). No that is not an option for them.

I've no plans to go totally vegan, but I do plan on figuring ways out to eat more fruits and vegetables. Seems to be a good way to continue to be able to eat and feel satisfied while still cutting the calories. The nice thing about them is that I notice they do get rid of the hunger pangs and keep me feeling not hungry for a good few hours. Processed foods with high salt and sugar content (known appetite triggers) don't have the same effect for me.
 
It was very good! It's a keeper. Interesting combo of spices but I used granulated garlic instead of cloves and added 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar at the end. IMHO, vinegar has a way of making cooked veggies and beans "pop", even if it did have a lot of tomatoes in it.

It turned out to be about 8 cups though. Still a lot.

I had it with short grain brown rice, the kind that is slightly sticky. Very good! :)
 
I copied out the recipe in Word (I am out of ink right now) and will try it when I can. I may change out the adobo seasoning for a different seasoning to cut the sodium.
 
I also tend to keep my recipes in a directory on my laptop :) -- much easier to find when I need it.

I got the chipotle peppers packed in adobe sauce, and that's what I used. The sodium was not that high. For a third of the can (Goya's) it was 480 mg. Divided by 4 to 8 servings that is 120 to 60 mg per serving. I had about a sixth of the recipe so for me it was 80 mg. The sodium from the canned tomatoes brought it up to a 100mg. 100 mg isn't bad considering 2400 is considered an average person's daily serving.

I guess it depends upon whether you can get low sodium tomatos and if you are willing to prep your own beans instead of buying canned. But even if you buy canned beans, I think you can rinse most of the sodium off.

I hadn't had beans in a while so I thought I might be sensitive to it -- so that's why I did the extra soaking and boiling. But I think for most people an overnight soak and simmering for an hour would work. And I like the idea of prepping a lot of beans and putting aside the extra in the freezer. I'll probably do that next time.

I think the adobe sauce really helps make the dish tasty, but if you do decide to swap out the adobe sauce, let me know what you go with. :) I always like to try different things.

Right now I'm wondering what would be a good substitute for the bell peppers. Zuicchini? Eggplant?
 
Our kitten seems to be P.O.'ed (pissed off) all the time. He eats 9-Lives and cat treats, follows me into the kitchen all the time thinking he's gonna get another treat!...No way...he's getting fat and micheavous already! We have to put him into the bedroom to feed my doggie...he even has ate Puppy Chow! We're having patience for him to "grow up" and stop making so many messes!...My house plants have suffered, he knocks things off the table, jumps onto the kitchen table....he's everywhere!...I've come so close to strangling that cat! :giggle:...but he's a real sweetheart at bedtime....I pick him up, along with my doggie and carry them both to bed with me.
 
Your kitten sounds like quite a character!

It reminds me of when my female cat was still a kitten and I had to "free feed" her all day. The older male cat just free fed himself all day too. He just inhaled the stuff. Not really a lot I could have done about it because the female cat wasn't willing to eat her meals in a box I set up that was just large enough for her, plus sometimes the older cat blocked her access to it.

The male cat about doubled his weight and I put him on a diet as soon as the female cat was old enough to be fed at fixed mealtimes. It took 18 months for him to lose all that weight! :eek3:

Still, I was better at putting him on a diet than myself. :D
 
You're so in the dog house! Or should I say 'cat' house!
I will some time have a snack that not good for Marty and give him his snack. And boy if looks good kill !
I have a funny cat story.


A friend had a very bossy cat and my friend had company over for dinner and the meal was chicken. The cat waited very patiently at the guest feet for a 'treat' when the meal was over and the cat did NOT get any chicken she was so P-O she bite the guest in her leg!!
 
whatdidyousay! said:
You're so in the dog house! Or should I say 'cat' house!
I will some time have a snack that not good for Marty and give him his snack. And boy if looks good kill !
I have a funny cat story.


A friend had a very bossy cat and my friend had company over for dinner and the meal was chicken. The cat waited very patiently at the guest feet for a 'treat' when the meal was over and the cat did NOT get any chicken she was so P-O she bite the guest in her leg!!
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Ouch! That is funny! Well, its funny as long as your friend is willing to keep her cat. I volunteered at a pet shelter for awhile and there were a lot of cats whose owners didn't bother to teach them any manners while they were still kittens. A kitten's scratch and nip is cute, a 10 lb cat can do a surprising amount of damage.

My kitties got a lot of time outs in the bathroom for 5 minutes at a time until they learned their manners. It took a while, they were stubborn!

Anyway, you are right, I'm still in the cat house now! :) But my next marathon cooking spree will probably include chicken and a salmon loaf from canned salmon, so I think she'll be happy again soon.
 
Jazzberry said:
Ouch! That is funny! Well, its funny as long as your friend is willing to keep her cat. I volunteered at a pet shelter for awhile and there were a lot of cats whose owners didn't bother to teach them any manners while they were still kittens. A kitten's scratch and nip is cute, a 10 lb cat can do a surprising amount of damage.

My kitties got a lot of time outs in the bathroom for 5 minutes at a time until they learned their manners. It took a while, they were stubborn!

Anyway, you are right, I'm still in the cat house now! :) But my next marathon cooking spree will probably include chicken and a salmon loaf from canned salmon, so I think she'll be happy again soon.
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My friend dies some years ago.
 
For my next adventure in vegetarian cooking, I made oatmeal with pumpkin yesterday. Another keeper! :)

This is also the first time that I bothered to soak the steel cut oats overnight before cooking them. That makes a big difference! The oats really swell up. So, for the same standard 1/4 cup dry oatmeal serving, you end up with a much larger and creamier bowl of oatmeal to eat.

Mix:

1 cup of steel cut oats
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup of plain canned pumpkin
2 cups of water
1 cup milk


Put in fridge overnight and cook the next morning. Bring to a boil then simmer until excess liquid is gone. I forgot to time this (I was doing other things) -- but it takes between 10 - 20 mins I would say.

Makes four one-cup servings.

Only thing I would do differently -- be sure to mix the spices with the dry oatmeal and pumpkin before adding the liquids. I added them at the end and a lot of the spices floated on top and never mixed in well. The cereal still tasted good though. And it's extremely filling! I wasn't hungry at all yesterday! I think I could have skipped lunch and dinner -- but I didn't.

The cereal refrigerates well and I've read that canned pumpkin freezes well.

Mizz Kit Kat's* review: Pureed pumpkin is an acceptable meat substitute. Rating: 5 out of 5 whiskers.

Preview of things to come: I have a 16 oz bag's worth of cannellini beans soaking in the fridge.


* my cat.
 
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