Day 30 and 31

I did it! 30 days as a vegan. Now for the next 30 days!

Y.d. came home monday for an appointment and we enjoyed cooking and baking together – rice and veggies, spice donuts, and no-bake cookies. All very good. But if you have ever wondered "can I possibly eat too many veggies?”

Why yes you can.

I am more of a "eat less, more often" than “eat more, less often.” Plain and simple ... I ate too much! It was so good but you can get too much of a good thing!

Day 29


Yesterday I ordered a soy latte at Starbucks. Because I have ordered the same thing for years ... “viente non fat extra hot latte with light foam” ... the barista was surprised when I ordered soy. When he ask why, I told him about the vegan challenge. He seemed relieve when I told him it was mainly for health reasons. He said he hoped I wasn’t going “all PETA crazy.” I am not. 

However I have always felt that cows should wear bows and bonnets and not steak sauce, and pigs should ... oh wait, I have already divulged how I feel (felt) about bacon. Not to worry any longer little piggies!

Day 28


Catching up on blog, making tabouli for lunches (ah ha ... planning ahead challenge), and working on cookbook. Great weekend. Looking forward to a great week and y.d. coming home next weekend!

Day 27


Road trip to Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. Now looking forward to cooking and meal planning ... and the next road trip.

Day 22 - 26


I am getting towards the end of the 30 days (of the challenge) and looking forward to the next 30 days, and then the next. My next challenge should be adding variety into meal planning. Rice and beans is a common meal – easy when you get home from work tired and wanting something easy and quick. Planning ahead and prepping could be another challenge. But I am getting ahead of myself. One at a time.


Highlight: Day 23 - celebrated birthday with family in town. Hubs delicious vegan carrot cupcakes!

Day 21


Heading home, but not before one more stop at Cafe Berlin. Oh how I will miss y.d. and all the vegan options available. Going to try and recreate some of the recipes I enjoyed this weekend and find new recipes in recently purchased cookbooks!

Thank you y.d. for a wonderful birthday weekend!

Day 20


Farmers Market, Katy Trail bike ride, and lunch at Cafe Berlin. I had Hummus Wrap - Hummus, tabouli, feta & tomato in a wrap and Em had Beans n’ Greens - plate of mixed greens topped with organic brown rice, black beans, salsa and avocado. So good. At home I can't think of one restaurant that have a strong vegan menu. I could get a salad at many places ... just not the same.

It is beginning to look like all we did was eat ... but there was also alot of shopping, laughing, walking, and talking. Okay, alot of talking about food!


Supper: me, Buddha Bowl - brown rice, tofu, carrots, broccoli, cabbage, scallions, sesame seeds, sprouts; y.d. - Garden Burrito - brown rice, refried beans, carrot, sprouts, lettuce in a whole wheat tortilla. 

Yum-o.

Day 19


Going to get caught up on blog ... one day (or several) at a time. 

My birthday and a trip to spend the weekend with y.d. (young daughter). Our plans for the evening were supper and Colbie Calliat concert. We went to Main Squeeze Natural Cafe to have our first vegan meal together. Although y.d. is not a vegan she knew that I was going to stick to the challenge and she was happy to oblige, choosing a vegan option herself. I had Rice and Beans - brown rice, seasoned beans, homemade salsa, and scallions and she had Veggie Quesadilla - roasted pepers, spinach, tomato, red onion, grilled in a whole wheat tortilla. Very tasty ...


... and gave us plenty of energy to stand for 4 hours waiting and during the concert!

Day 12 – 18

Again, how do so many days get by without an update?


Highlights
• Banana Bread ... delish
• Black bean brownies ... not too bad. A good chocolate “sweet bite”
• Hubs pasta sauce ... he is perfecting this. And I am happily testing each one.

DAY 10 AND 11

Homemade pasta sauce recipe from Peas and Thank You. No, thank you! Hubs made it Wednesday night and we enjoyed it last night. Got to love that when we find a recipe he is happy to make it and I am sure we will be making this again.

I have been ask if I feel different eating a vegan diet. I don't ... yet. I have always favored fruits and vegetables over chicken, beef, and pork ... with the exception of bacon ... which I would have on occasion. I often had yogurt for lunch which has been placed with sliced veggies (right now I am loving yellow and red peppers) and hummus sandwiches. My afternoon “sweet bite” which was usually chocolate or cookies have been replaced with raisins. Supper has just been fine-tuned. Homemade sauce for the whole wheat pasta instead of jarred, more salads, and homemade soup. It might take a few more days, weeks, or months of a vegan diet to feel differently. Think I will find out!

DAY 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

How do these days go by so quickly? Challenge is ... well, not so challenging. After the movies on Saturday the "hubs" and I went shopping. We had looked at recipes, had our list, and were ready to go. We filled our cart with fruits, veggies, beans, rice, oatmeal, dates, etc. Pretty much everything I would need or want. Although he is trying to wrap his arms around this, he is struggling giving up his turkey sandwiches, breakfast eggs, and milk.

The irony of timing is that, as I am perusing vegan cookbooks and blogs, I am also working on designing and laying out a cookbook for a friends mother, Mrs. B. This has been a little more challenging. I have ran across many of the same dishes I had growing up. My mom's chicken and noodles, meatloaf, my Aunt Violet’s chocolate sheet cake, Aunt Marie's spice cake with caramel frosting ... ah, "food memories."

I also wonder how what has been easy now, will be at Thanksgiving. Or Christmas? When tradition means turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, sugar cookies? I am feeling optimistic. A chance to try out new recipes along with the regulars. I did see a recipe for vegan sugar cookies ... now you know where my heart lies!

DAY 4
Be prepared. Might be the most important mantra for this challenge. A well stocked cupboard and fridge is essential to making good choices. Saturday morning I will be making a grocery list and going shopping!

DAY 3
I bought a vegan cookbook on the way home from work last night, Peas and Thank You. Like most books I buy, it was the layout and color photos that appealed to me. Luckily, beyond that were recipes that looked delicious and easy. Looking forward to trying them and eating something more than fruit and veggie salads and beans and rice – that is my familiar – my safe food!

DAY 2





How did this all start? Ken (the husband) was watching a CNN documentary, The Last Heart Attack, with Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn who had written the book Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease. There is a history of heart disease in his family and it got his attention. Halfway through I sat down and watched it with him. After it was over I ask him if he wanted me to get the book. He did. I downloaded it and started reading some of the things we should eat and some we shouldn’t. His general response was “I have to eat that?” or “I can’t give that up!” But I thought we should give it a try.

Since that evening he often reports he had eaten “a face” ... cow, chicken, or pig. Or their milk. Or their eggs. And to make sure I understood how hard this was going to be for him he showed me that his sandwich REALLY did have a face. This morning he stared at the carton of soy milk for his cereal, then decided on scrambled eggs. (That is chicken Ken.)

But this is my challenge ... started the day with a soy latte made at home this morning ($8.06 saved ... sorry Starbucks) and packed a red pepper humus sandwich for lunch.

DAY 1


30 day vegan challenge ... can I do it? I spent last week testing this concept before I actually committed to the challenge. Love fruits and veggies. Beans, whole grains, we have those all the time. Can’t eat anything that “paws a hoof, flaps a wing or flips a tail. Nothing with a face or a mother, living on land or in water.” Well when you put it like that, who would want to eat it anyway. The first thing to tripped me up was “no dairy”. I rarely sit down to tall cold glass of milk, but I do enjoy a Starbuck latte every morning. Was this going to be the deal breaker? Soy latte? I gave it a try. Ordered a tall soy latte AND a large, no fat latte (my usual) for back up. It was a little different, almost like a vanilla latte. Drank half of the small soy and then polished off my regular latte.

So here we are, day one. Had a soy latte that I prepared at home ... and didn’t stop at Starbucks for a backup! Looks like I may even save some money during this challenge!