One Meal - That's All I Ask!
When I was a young child and became acutely aware of where my animal protein came from, I told my mom that I wanted to become a vegetarian. My mom was supportive and said if I was going to do this, I needed to educate myself on what to eat in order to stay healthy. We went to the library, researched plant based protein, and tried out new recipes. Though it was only a "faze I grew out of" I continued experimenting with vegetarianism to adulthood. In college I lived in a vegetarian house (with 6 roommates, one whom was vegan) and after graduating I became vegan for a couple years (though I must admit I was a lazy unhealthy vegan). Eating meat just seemed easier and plus you need animal protein to be healthy, right? And it gets trying to always "justify" your diet to others...the irony is that no one ever questions your eating habits if it's an animal and carbohydrate rich diet, but as soon as you remove animal protein and replace it with grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables you become "unhealthy" or "nutrient deprived" or "protein deficient." By no means am I telling you how or what to eat, but instead simply just asking you to be open minded!
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| How many colors of the rainbow have you eaten today? |
Anyone who knows me knows that I don't half ass when it comes to food! So, if this new way of life was going to work for us it had to taste BRILLIANT, it must be 5 year old and 19 month old friendly, and keep us healthy! I bought a couple books and borrowed more from the library and found a couple keepers: Vegan for Everybody (from American's Test Kitchen) and Thug Kitchen: Eat Like You Give a F*ck (don't be put off by the f-word, this book is brilliant!). And so the journey began!
I'm not going to lie - the first couple weeks were brutal! I was OVERWHELMED and thinking what did I get myself into!!! I spent ALL my free time shopping, meal planning, prepping food, and more shopping! Grocery shopping took forever because I wasn't sure where to find half of the items on my list and many times I had to go to multiple grocery stores to find what I needed. And you know my 5 year old was THRILLED about that! Now granted, I know I did not need to make this change so complicated - I could have easily meal planned a week of beans and rice with alternating roasted vegetables and sauces - easy peasy! But, if I wanted this to stick and keep my family on board I knew the meals needed to be amazing! Did I mention I don't half ass food?
Some of our first dinners included: broccoli "cheese" soup with homemade bread: sushi; BLTA (smoked maple "bacon" tofu, lettuce, tomato, avocado) sandwiches with caesar salad, and roasted sweet potatoes; homemade buddha bowls with homemade YUMM sauce; and shiitake mushroom ramen noodles with pot stickers.
Lunch: mostly leftovers, homemade hummus with pita or tortilla chips and veggies, PB&J, or burritos.
Breakfast: oatmeal with nut milk and dried fruit, smoothies, french toast, or buttermilk waffles.
Snacks: popcorn with butter and nutritional yeast, banana bread, granola and apple sauce, peanut butter and apple or banana, or vegetables and ranch.
Dessert: Chocolate chip cookies, coconut mochi, granola bars.
But, after the first couple weeks meals got easier! I had a good routine down and more importantly my family was loving the food and we felt GREAT!!! I mean REALLY GREAT!!! These next "side effects" of our new way of eating took me and my husband by total surprise! After just 4 weeks my husband and I were sleeping better! We woke up feeling more rested and had energy that lasted the entire day! I no longer had this bloated feeling (that I didn't even know I had until it was gone)! My daughters eczema had basically disappeared (we are still using over the counter lotion for daily maintenance, but have stopped using steroids - she's had eczema since she was 6 months old and has been using steroids since then)! And my daughter's severe constipation issues we've been dealing with for MONTHS are now GONE and she is pooping at least twice a day (sorry, TMI)! I was shocked!!! I've seen all the documentaries and have read many stories of how diet changed peoples lives - got them off medicine - made them feel better - but I never thought it would happen to us! Oh, and my husband has lost about 15 pounds!
I know becoming vegan may sound extreme to some, overwhelming, or simply too much effort! So, instead try one vegan meal a week - a vegan day - a vegan week! Or, come over and I'll cook for you! My whole family has been so surprised by how amazing vegan meals are! I feel like I have missed out on all of this brilliant food for so many years simply because I've been told I need animal protein and animal byproducts in my diet.
Come and take a vegan adventure with us and maybe you'll understand what all the fuss is about 😸
Some of our first dinners included: broccoli "cheese" soup with homemade bread: sushi; BLTA (smoked maple "bacon" tofu, lettuce, tomato, avocado) sandwiches with caesar salad, and roasted sweet potatoes; homemade buddha bowls with homemade YUMM sauce; and shiitake mushroom ramen noodles with pot stickers.
Lunch: mostly leftovers, homemade hummus with pita or tortilla chips and veggies, PB&J, or burritos.
Breakfast: oatmeal with nut milk and dried fruit, smoothies, french toast, or buttermilk waffles.
Snacks: popcorn with butter and nutritional yeast, banana bread, granola and apple sauce, peanut butter and apple or banana, or vegetables and ranch.
Dessert: Chocolate chip cookies, coconut mochi, granola bars.
But, after the first couple weeks meals got easier! I had a good routine down and more importantly my family was loving the food and we felt GREAT!!! I mean REALLY GREAT!!! These next "side effects" of our new way of eating took me and my husband by total surprise! After just 4 weeks my husband and I were sleeping better! We woke up feeling more rested and had energy that lasted the entire day! I no longer had this bloated feeling (that I didn't even know I had until it was gone)! My daughters eczema had basically disappeared (we are still using over the counter lotion for daily maintenance, but have stopped using steroids - she's had eczema since she was 6 months old and has been using steroids since then)! And my daughter's severe constipation issues we've been dealing with for MONTHS are now GONE and she is pooping at least twice a day (sorry, TMI)! I was shocked!!! I've seen all the documentaries and have read many stories of how diet changed peoples lives - got them off medicine - made them feel better - but I never thought it would happen to us! Oh, and my husband has lost about 15 pounds!
I know becoming vegan may sound extreme to some, overwhelming, or simply too much effort! So, instead try one vegan meal a week - a vegan day - a vegan week! Or, come over and I'll cook for you! My whole family has been so surprised by how amazing vegan meals are! I feel like I have missed out on all of this brilliant food for so many years simply because I've been told I need animal protein and animal byproducts in my diet.
Come and take a vegan adventure with us and maybe you'll understand what all the fuss is about 😸
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