31 Days, AKA OMG

31 days. THIRTY-ONE DAYS.

I'm really proud of myself. I haven't wanted it, haven't looked at it, haven't even thought about the possibility of missing it. Dairy simply has no place in my life anymore. Thanks to the help of some clever dairy-free items (soy/rice milk, ice cream, yogurt, veggie cheese, etc) I haven't craved the real stuff in a long time.

I've lost 10 lbs. I feel great.

The other day I finally figured out how to make good tofu for stir fry. In the past my tofu has been too mushy and really sogged up the stir fry. I learned how to "dry fry" the tofu first, to toughen it up and cook all of the moisture out, then soak it in marinade and toss it in with the stir fry veggies. It was heavenly! I can't wait to make it again! I feel like a whole new world of meal possibilities has been handed to me.

Some days I am more interested in eating pasta and bread than fresh fruits and veggies, so I just need to keep focused and remember to keep mixing my meals up so I don't get bored and lazy. Here is a list of some of my favorite healthy vegan meals and snacks:

Breakfast:

Muesli w/ frozen blueberries & soy/rice milk

English muffin w/ pb&j

Multi-grain bagel w/ pb

Glass of "green drink" from Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, or Odwalla

Lunch/Dinners:

Pasta w/ sauce & Smart Ground "meat" crumbles (aka TVP)

Giantass salad w/ various veggies & oil+vinegar

Tofu dogs w/ veggie cheese, ketchup & mustard (yes, it does taste the same! well, almost)

Sandwich w/ hummus and various veggies like lettuce, cucumber, tomato, red onion, etc

Stir fry w/ tofu + quinoa or brown rice

Quinoa + anything - I LOVE quinoa. I even love to type quinoa. ;)

Homemade burritos/tacos with TVP, veggie refried beans, lettuce, tomato, vegan cheese and taco sauce

PB&J sandwiches

Subway veggie delight sandwiches

SUSHI. OMG I love me some veggie sushi. Our local grocer makes it fresh daily, and I would seriously eat it every day if I could. Love love love love love.

Roasted veggies - asparagus, artichokes, potatoes, etc. The other day I made a bunch of veggies and threw it all together on one plate. It was yummo.

Snacks:

Homemade guacamole made with fresh avocado and salsa (that's it. If you haven't ever made your own, try it. It's easy and delish!)

Chips & salsa

Fresh fruit - strawberries, cantaloupe, watermelon, bananas, grapes, etc.

Fresh veggies w/ hummus

What is your favorite reliable vegan meal?

So delicious! Wait...Does This Have Dairy??

Last night J and I took her mom out for Mother's Day dinner. We delayed a couple of days to give ourselves time to spend with each other on Sunday, which as I mentioned in the previous post was a very emotionally difficult day for both of us. Her mom ended up choosing a local Lebanese restaurant that J's sister and husband had visited a few times, and we were excited to try it out. Both J and I loooooove Middle Eastern cuisine and were excited about getting to have some.

We got to the restaurant and almost immediately were served a bowl of delicious garlic spread. I should have known by the whiteness of the spread that it had milk in it, but I tried a few bites anyway. Then I had a few more bits. Next thing I know, I'm dragging my pita right down the middle of the bowl and shoveling it in my mouth. It was only after the waitress came back to take our order that I asked if there was any dairy in it, and of course she said yes. My heart sank. I know I didn't eat dairy intentionally, but my gut was telling me the whole time that it was probably milk-based and I should stop eating it until I can ask them how it was made.

I ordered a vegetarian sandwich, which comes on a rolled and pan-fried pita (almost like a burrito) with rice and vegetables - and garlic sauce spread all over the inside of the bread. Son of a b. I resigned that I was going to end up eating more of it and bit the bullet. Next time we go I'll remember to ask them to take the garlic sauce off.

By the time we had gotten back in the car to leave, my stomach was in complete knots. J told me it was probably psychosomatic, but I knew what I was feeling. The grumbling, the familiar gurgling sound coming from my gut...it was undeniable. I felt like things were quickly going to come out one end or the other. It wasn't until I woke up this morning that I started to feel normal again.

Just a TINY little bit of dairy made me feel so nauseous and sick! Vegan gods - I've learned my lesson.

Three Weeks: Still Holding On

Mother's Day was really hard on us, and I really wanted to toss the whole vegan thing down the crapper and eat a box of brownie mix with a soup spoon. But I didn't. I held on and made us a yummy dinner of quinoa (pronounced "keen-wa") with steamed artichokes and roasted asparagus. It doesn't sound like much, but quinoa is packed with loads of protein, fiber and nutrients which filled us right up. The green veggies were the perfect side and I only wish I had made more. Even if I had I'm not sure if we would have had the room to eat it all -- we were both stuffed!

I've also found a couple new blogs that I've been following regularly. One of them is Two Vegan Boys written by the mom of two young sons. Recently she's been posting a lot about the book Vegan on the Cheap which has been a really enjoyable read. Plus she has two adorable kiddos and it's great to see how she is able to feed them healthy, kid-friendly meals that are in line with her standards. I can't wait to try it out on our kiddos!

Another blog I've been kind of obsessed with is Vegan Planet. She posts the most delish-looking recipes. Although I have yet to conquer any, once we have a working printer (and we move to the new place) I intend to print up her creations and attempt a few. My mouth waters every time she posts something new.

I am so proud to have made it 3 weeks on this diet. My coworkers have finally stopped teasing me and seem to have resigned to the fact that I will not be eating meat or dairy anymore. While learning how to make drinks in our store's coffee shop this morning, they even practiced making soy-based drinks just so that I'd be able to try something too. It was very sweet.

Day 17

I can't believe I'm still a vegan. I RULE.

I have had no desire to eat anything with dairy at all, which still kind of surprises me. I used to be so addicted to cheese and even thinking about a fast food cheeseburger was enough to get me in the car to the drive thru. Now thinking about it grosses me out. I can't not think of animals when I think of meat and dairy now. I hope I never lose that sensitivity, because it has been probably the most important element to staying on this diet.

Today I had a boring lunch/dinner (late shift at work) of PB&J on whole grain bread with carrot sticks and soy yogurt w/ granola mixed in, but it was still delish. Breakfast was the usual: a bowl of high-fiber cereal with soy milk and frozen blueberries and a cup of coffee. I might have a little snack of hummus and pita later if I get hungry, but I'm still pretty full from dinner.

I got a little further into Vegan Freak and I'm a little disappointed. The authors have been going on a rant for about 10 pages and I really want to get back to topics like the vegan stigma, how to handle repetitive, arrogant questions from non-vegans, etc. Not really finding that so far, but maybe I'm just in the "activist" part and the good stuff doesn't come until later. Don't get me wrong, I get the activist stuff but like I said before I'm just not there yet. Right now I just want to know how to help my friends and co-workers understand what I'm doing and why, not beat them over the head with animal cruelty facts or tell them why eating meat is wrong. I don't want to change the world; I want to change me. I want to be an example for how vegan living can be fun and tasty. I want to be a healthier person.

Maybe that makes me a selfish vegan, but oh well.

Day 15

It's Day 15 and I'm still doing it!

The past couple of days have been pretty emotional and stressful for us, so I haven't been eating as much fresh fruits and veggies as I should be. I'm still getting plenty of them though. My main go-to foods have been veggie sushi from the local grocer (my favorite!) hummus, granola, pb&j sandwiches and big salads with vinagrete (sp?). I've also been trying out a new brand of soy yogurt, but since I found out after the fact that they use a milk derivative I won't be getting it anymore.

I've been keeping track of my weight on WiiFit and slowly but surely things are coming down. I don't feel heavy and bloated after my meals anymore, and I've also noticed how much easier it's been to stop eating once I'm full. I guess I have a better overall awareness of how food affects me. It's fantastic!

My co-workers are very curious and have been asking me a lot of questions. A couple of them are die-hard meat eaters and cannot fathom a world without steak (shudder) so they like to tease me rather than ask about it. I love that I make them so uncomfortable, lol.

I tried a vegan-friendly box of brownie mix the other day. I saved the label in case things worked well so I would remember to get the same brand again. They were a.maz.ing and I cannot wait to make them again.

Also I bought the books Veganomicon and Vegan Freak and so far have enjoyed both. Veganomicon is more a cookbook than an instructional manual for how to become vegan, but I love the simple layout and user-friendly recipes. Vegan Freak is pretty politically charged, but it's helping to remind me of why I decided to start down this road in the first place. And it's funny, so bonus.

I'm sorry for the short, disjointed post today. As I mentioned earlier things have been a little down in our house (Mother's Day...ugh) so I haven't really felt like saying much. Once the holiday passes and we get going on the next cycle I'm sure I'll be here more often.

Toodles!