Meatless Monday Daily Menu for August 6

I went to the movies last night and ate no popcorn. Is there some kind of medal for this? There should be!

Another non-scale victory: I went to buy a few T-shirts the other day, since mine are getting baggy, and the size 22/2x fit. I was in 26-28/3x before. Yay for new, smaller clothes!

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It's Meatless Monday again and we're going heavy on the beans today. I made these beans last night to serve for lunch today. The flavors are fantastic, and the little bit of tart bite from the capers were a welcome contrast to the smooth, creamy beans

Recipe
Gigantes bean salad with lemon-caper vinaigrette
Serves 8 as a side dish (including 1 healthy oil servings), 4 as a main dish (including 2 healthy oil servings

Beans:
2 c. large dried Gigantes beans, picked over and rinsed (lima beans are a good substitute)
2 T olive oil (needed to control foaming)
6 c. water
1 t. salt

In a 6-quart or larger pressure cooker, combine bean ingredients. Lock lid in place and bring to high pressure. Cook for 9 minutes under high pressure. Turn off heat and allow pressure to come down naturally, 15-20 minutes. Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to allow steam to escape. If the beans aren't uniformly tender, replace but do not lock the lid and simmer until done. Drain and transfer to a large bowl and discard any loose bean skins.

Additional ingredients:
3 c. diced zucchini
2 c. cooked corn

Dressing:
1/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. finely chopped shallots or red onion
2 T chopped capers
1 t. Dijon mustard
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. fresh ground pepper

Combine the dressing ingredients into a vinaigrette. While the beans are still warm, add the zucchini, corn, pour on the vinaigrette and gently toss. Add extra salt and lemon to taste. Enjoy warm or cold.

(Variation of a recipe from the cookbook "Pressure Perfect" by Lorna Sass)

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Daily menu:

Breakfast
1 c. yogurt, 1/4 c. steel cut oats, apricots

Lunch
Gigantes bean salad, beans from Phipps Country Store, including corn, zucchini, and an olive oil-lemon-caper vinaigrette
2 slices toast with 1 t. butter (3 Points)
Orange

Dinner
Bean and corn tamale pie
Whole heirloom Tomato
3 corn tortillas (3 Points)

Snack
1 slice toast with 1/2 t. butter (1.5 Points) - this is a weakness now! I think I have to freeze the butter for a while so I don't spend all my points on bread and butter.

WPA (Weekly Points Allowance) points used today: 7.5
WPA points available: 12.5
Activity points today: 0
Activity points this week: 9

Daily 8 - the 8 Healthy Guidelines
1. Fruits and veggies - 5+
2. Whole grains - oatmeal, polenta, bulgur
3. Milk - yes
4. Healthy oil - yes
5. Protein - yes (eggs, beans)
6. Limit sugar and alcohol - yes
7. Water - 8+
8. Multivitamin - yes