Meatless Monday: Ode to modern technology

photo credit: pinterest via Kristina Marie

You can hardly see me due to the reflection,
but that's me on the computer..mimosa in hand ;)

Yesterday I spent 3 hours on Skype for a Brunch/Skype date with my parents and best friends.  970 miles away and I was able to enjoy brunch and mimosas with some of the people I love most. This got me thinking about the convenience of modern technology.  I keep up with friends through facebook updates and twitpics; I play scrabble with friends 5 states away; When I'm craving Indian food, I find the nearest restaurant and read their reviews; I order airline tickets; I check sports scores and rankings... all from my phone.

You know what else I usually do right from my phone? Find recipes.  So, this weeks Meatless Monday recipe is Lentil Chili which comes from my favorite iPhone app--the Whole Foods Market Recipes app.  It's free and amazing.  It's filled with helpful features and delicious recipes.  Seriously.  If you have an iPhone (or iPad) GET. IT.

You can search for a recipe by course, category or special diets.  

You can save your favorite recipes.  

You can find your nearest Whole Foods.

How I came about making Lentil Chili was by using the "On Hand" feature. 

These were some of my results.  I read each one and chose the one I had all the ingredients for.  No trip to the market for this girl.  And I know what my Florida friends must be thinking, "Chili in summer?!"  Being that I'm a Florida girl myself, highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s is my winter!  In fact, we've been eating every meal on our back deck since we moved to the 'burgh and on the particular night I served this, the Dr. said, "I'm a little chilly."  Perfect weather for chili.  (;

If you do happen to need a trip to the market, you can add the recipe to your shopping list and check off the items as you get them! Awesome, right?

Each recipe shows an Overview, the Ingredients, and the Method for making the dish. 

And if you know someone you would like to share the recipe with, just hit "Share Recipe" and you have the option of emailing the recipe or sharing on facebook or twitter.  

The final product.  Not a great picture.  I was just trying to show how much we had LEFT OVER! The recipe serves 8, so if there are only 2 of you...learn from my mistakes and cut the recipe in half.  Unless of course you like feeding your neighbors. 

*Honorable mention to the AllRecipes app where you can also search using dietary filters or even use the Dinner Spinner if you need some inspiration. I prefer the Whole Foods app for two reasons:

 #1.  I am able to find a better selection of vegan and gluten free recipes 

 #2. AllRecipes gets their recipes from subscribers and sometimes I have found these recipes to be flawed.  Whole Foods recipes seem to have been tried, tested and perfected.  If you do get a recipe from AllRecipes I highly suggest reading the comments before trying.  

They are often very insightful.  

I promise to get a Meatless Monday post up before dinner one of these days.  

Until then, happy meatless cooking...and eating!

xoxo, 

The Mrs.