Great Vegan Adventure: Day 11

Oatmeal pancakes for breakfast...yum! Quaker Oats has a totally vegan pancake mix which is great actually and has none of those buttermilk solids. But that was it...until...AN AMAZING DINNER!

OK, let me lay this out for you...Tacos...with a biiiig vegan twist!

I started out by caramelizing onions which takes a little while but it's worth it. I used olive oil and a little Earth Balance buttery spread. It takes a lot of olive oil but you have to take that into account, diet wise. I moved the onions around in the pan to make room for a gourmet mushroom mix which included shiitake, oyster and regular mushrooms. You probably don't need all the fancy mushrooms...the regular ones would do nicely. I used the oil from the onions to saute the mushrooms and just kept everything in the same pan. Oh, I added a sprinkle of Celtic sea salt to the mix. Man...sounds really fancy, doesn't it?

I had already roasted some poblanos, jalapenos and bell peppers so I just ran them under warm water to remove the blackened skin and take out the seeds. I cut the poblanos and bell peppers into rajas (strips) and set them aside. I also chopped the jalapenos which were quite spicy. Sometimes they're not that spicy but these are spicy. As I was taking off the skin and removing the seeds under the water I started to cough from the spice. Surprising.

OK, so everything is cut up, sauteing and ready for the tacos. I take the onions and mushrooms out of the pan and set them aside.

Pep is prepping the guacamole and I heat up the corn tortillas in the microwave. I happen to like the white ones but any will do. I don't like flour tortillas...besides, a lot of times they have lard in them. He asks me if I want the tacos crispy. I was thinking I'd just have them soft but what the heck! Crispy it is! Besides, he makes awesome tacos! So, he layered them with the caramelized onion, mushroom, poblano and bell peppers and a smattering of jalapeno.

The onions made the tacos taste almost creamy! The fact that there's a bit of olive oil doesn't hurt but at least it's healthy oil! We had a little bit of the brown and wild rice with parsnips that my mother in law made for us along with guacamole and salsa.

Oh! My sister in law made a great curry coconut lentil soup! Pep had that as a side dish. Very tasty!

And for dessert? Half of a leftover pancake with a couple of squares of dark chocolate melted on top accompanied by Smucker's Raspberry All Fruit spread. Who needs cake??

Not too shabby, eh?

Tomorrow is the big 50th wedding anniversary. We had requested tofu with the mole they were serving. LOL. Mole tofu...mmmmm...

It's Sunday...so it's exempt from Lent...soooo...I may just have some dessert.

Don't hate me!!

Cheers!

Great Vegan Adventure: Day 10! Milestone

Today is day 10. Not too shabby. Pep and I were saying that we could continue this after Lent is finished. I actually exercised today which felt good and I plan on keeping that up. You can punch me if I don't.

But I'm still craving buttercream! What's up with that? It's a tempting idea to go to Sweet Mandy B's on Webster before my show tonight and grab a cupcake but I think I'd feel really guilty if I do it. Maybe I won't leave the house until I absolutely have to. That way I won't have time to take a detour.

I gotta tell you, my skin is looking pretty good! I have rosacea...being a fair skinned European type, I'm prone to it as are my siblings. But, my skin looks pretty good! It's not overly red and the broken capillaries aren't as pronounced.

My sister said that everyone she's known who has gone vegan or vegetarian tend to glow with health. Wow...that's pretty good. She may even go vegan with me. It's a miracle! Her thing is to go on diets that cut out whole food groups. As you know, I've never been a fan of doing that. Wait...does this mean I'm a hypocrite? Well, it's for Lent...but I think that this is more of a lifestyle than a diet. I think diets don't work anyway. Exercise...eat less. It's just the doing of it that's the hard part.

I ate a meal at the table today...hooray!

Cheers!

Great Vegan Adventure: Day 8 and 9

Yes, yes, yes...I have to combine days here because yesterday, frankly, I was in no mood to write. I got my period and just couldn't think very clearly. Sigh. That's what happens sometimes. I wasn't very motivated to tell you what's going on in Veggie World.

So, yesterday, I was still vegan. No meat, no eggs, no dairy...and really it's been OK! I thought about bacon once but that's just because of the Today show and those Canadians basting crispy bacon with maple syrup...mmmmmm....but I digress....

One thing I've discovered is that our refrigerator isn't that full...not like it usually is. It's usually packed to the gills with...stuff. And usually a lot of the vegetables go bad because we haven't eaten them in time. Or have forgotten about them. But I think that the fiber really keeps us full without having to eat so much.

Let me tell you...it's a lot cheaper to go to Pete's and get produce. It may not be organic but it's much more affordable. Peppers are .68 each and they're huge! Where as at some organic places, they're almost $4 a pound!! How can people afford to eat healthily at those prices? I know that organic is better for you and the earth but come on!

OK, desserts...

I gotta give kudos to Swirlz (in Chicago) for their vegan cupcakes...really good! It's not buttercream but they're very tasty! The cake has a dryer consistency but that's OK...and the frosting has a slightly different texture but all in all, very good! And we tried some snickerdoodles the other day...vegan style. (Why does every vegan dessert seem to have date paste?) Those are very tasty too! I'm starting to change my mind on vegan dessert...I still miss my buttercream but I'm starting to manage...

So, TV...I was going to tackle the TV. What do I mean by that...well, invariably we eat in front of the TV which we really have to stop. I tend to eat more and unconsciously, not really tasting the food and then going back for more. Although, lately I've been so full of gasses that I can't fit any more food anywhere. I brought home some more Thai food yesterday (because I had my period...OK??) and I ate way too much. I have to give more kudos to Star of Siam in Chicago. They have an awesome mild curry tofu dish with peas and potatoes. I was turned on to it by a friend of mine who's vegetarian and now I actually prefer it over the chicken. But it's just too darned good! And I'm sure it's not low in calories either.

Tonight we had some roasted butternut squash and acorn squash. I had roasted some more onions and peppers...poblano, jalapeno and bell...and ate one of the jalapenos with it. Very hot...but tasty and real.

And...ugh...I ate potato chips today. I don't know...I'm on this potato chip kick which I really gotta kick.

Well at least I didn't eat the whole bag! OK??

I weigh myself tomorrow morning...hopefully I've lost some bloat...at least that's what I'm calling it...

Cheers!

Great Vegan Adventure: Day 7

I think Parmesan is crack. Yes, that crack.

Yesterday Pep and I went for yet another appointment at the eye doc's to check in on our ojos del diablo...devil eyes. I'm getting better, but he's in the midst of this malady that's been going around. What a pain!

Anyway, we have these Maggiano's gift cards and decided to use them because they expire in April. So, we were trying to think of what we could get that's vegan and came up with the crispy zucchini strips, eggplant Parmesan without the hunk of Parmesan on the top and a spinach salad without the Gorgonzola cheese and bacon...the best part of the salad in my opinion...but I digress.

We analyzed the eggplant based on the fact that we'd had it before and decided just to take the cheese off the top. Hey, we're not hardcore so we're not that concerned with dairy or meat touching our other food. So, we take off the cheese and open the crispy zucchini box and see that it has Parmesan cheese sprinkled on the top! Argh! Well, we do our best to brush it off but I'm quite sure some slipped into our mouths...detected or otherwise.

We're hungry by the time we get home and decide to sit down in front of the TV, as we always tend to do but that's another blog entry, and have dinner.

Man...it was good! But, a little too good. I'm sorry, but I'm of the mind that vegan food isn't supposed to taste quite that good!

I'm convinced that the breading has Parmesan in it! Pep doesn't agree but I'm pretty sure we inadvertently broke our vegan vow!

So I stuff more into my face just to make sure...but I'm not entirely convinced so I analyze some more mouthfuls of eggplant Parmesan! Not sure yet...must try some more...

"Nope" I declare with mouth full..."it's got cheese in it!"

By this time, of course, it's pretty much devoured.

"Well," says Pep, " I don't think it does...but we just won't order it again...just in case."

Great. I've already violated not only Lent, but my vegan vow!

Burning in hell might be on the agenda for the future, but in the words of Scarlet O'Hara...I'll think about that tomorrow.

Was it worth it? Honestly? Um...kinda...

But we've redeemed ourselves today! We had the best lunch! And it was so simple!

Garden burger topped with roasted red pepper (So easy to roast on the grill, even in winter!)
Hummus
Brown rice with parsnips, onion and cilantro (Made by my Mexican mother-in-law, who likes a challenge)
Homemade salsa (Made by my Mexican father-in-law and it's always good)

I gotta tell ya, I did not miss meat! It was really great! And Pep is getting kinda used to me making him breakfast and lunch since he's been working from home. (The eye malady is very contagious) He's going to have withdrawal when he goes back.

Tonight should be interesting...my mother-in-law is going to attempt vegetarian pozole. Regular pozole is made with pork stock, chunks of pork with hominy and a chile puree and lots of garlic. It's an amazing pork stew basically. It's one of my favorite things that my mother-in-law makes so this should be interesting. I actually found a couple of recipes for veggie pozole but it will be interesting to see how she makes it. I'll keep you posted.

Tomorrow, I tackle the TV.. literally?

Cheers!

Great Vegan Adventure: Day 6

Dammit...DAMmit!

Yesterday I ate an entire bag of mesquite bbq flavored potato chips. Not in one sitting, but throughout the entire day. And that's in addition to the other things I ate which were pretty healthy actually. Whole grain pasta with sun dried tomato, roasted pepper, broccoli, garlic and onion and olive oil accompanied by tofu "steaks" with Soy Vey teriyaki sauce.

But the chips...the CHIPS! I realized that this was an entire day's allotment of calories AND this medium sized, half full bag of chips cost me $3! Can you believe that we pay $3 for a bag of chips and it's only half full? Well, at least I'm being optimistic. But we can make potatoes at home for a fraction of the cost!

Anyway, my sister in law called and asked what I was eating while we were on the phone.

"Potato chips." I crunched.

She laaaauuughed and laughed.

"You're on this vegan thing and you're eating potato chips!?"

"What." I said. "Potato chips are vegan. They come from a plant..."

OK, this begs the question...

Why are some vegans so thin and others gain weight?

Potato chips, fries, fried zucchini, fried mushrooms, anything fried that comes from a plant...fried bark...fried grass...

I keep forgetting that just because we aren't eating meat or dairy doesn't mean that I can eat whatever I want, however I want it. I still have to eat in moderation.

At times I've had no choice but to eat in moderation because all of the fiber has filled my body with copious amounts of gasses which have been releasing themselves in various ways. But that's good because I can't fill myself up and then go back for more right away...I'm full...which is a feeling I haven't really had, or paid attention to, in a long time. Which probably means that I've been eating low fiber food for too long and I know I haven't been taking care of my body and it's definitely rebelled.

I've always believed in "everything in moderation" and still do. I've never been a believer in cutting out entire groups of food. I tried the low carb thing and it made me want to kill people. I think that carbs affect serotonin which affects mood and I need as much serotonin as I can get.

So cutting out all animal products sort of goes against my thinking...but that means I have to modify my thinking by telling myself that I'm just cutting out a certain form of protein. There are still lots of forms of protein that I can have.

See how I'm conditioning myself?

You get the idea...

We'll see if it works!

Cheers!

Great Vegan Adventure: Day 5

Day 5 is going swimmingly so far, although I confess I was dreaming about hamburgers...cheeseburgers specifically. But, the interesting thing is that I'm not willing to actually go out and get one! It would feel like I'm betraying my promise. I think that this blog is actually helping me to adhere to the vegan adventure. Writing down everything you eat is supposed to help you lose weight...why not stick to being vegan?

This vegan thing is even being attributed to my eye recovery. Maybe, but I think that the steroids are probably what's doing it. I'm about ready to rebuild the foundation! Steroids? Never mind. I've had this thing for 16 long days...and it's finally getting better.

Anyway, if you've read the comments, you'll see what Gar wrote about teeth and meat. All very interesting stuff...although, my incisors are pretty fearsome, Gar. And I think that the more I hear about this stuff, the more I'm likely to stay on this or at least modify my diet greatly.

I went to the grocery store and got some Soy Vey Teriyaki for some tofu "steaks" and became very excited about some sun dried tomatoes.

Excitement? About sun dried tomatoes? Well, actually, that's not so weird. Perhaps I was excited because I didn't expect Pete's to actually have sun dried tomatoes. But, I thought that we could add it to our veggie pasta later on.

So far today:

Whole wheat pancakes made with almond milk, no eggs, no oil. We topped it with Earth Balance buttery spread and maple syrup...and some chocolate...and potato chips for lunch.

Thank god chips are vegan!!

OK, did I cheat a little? The mix actually contained buttermilk solids...but it's Sunday! And Sunday's are technically exempt from Lent!

Look it up if you don't believe me!

Besides, I wasn't going to throw out a whole box of delicious whole wheat pancake mix for a few buttermilk solids that we had bought long before our vegan venture.

So, Nancy, send off those recipes!

I think that the worst thing for me is dessert! The vegan dessert thing just isn't doing it for me! I need BUTTERCREAM! REAL buttercream!

Oh well...dark chocolate will have to do...

Cheers!

Great Vegan Adventure: Day 4

I am an omnivore...let's face it...I am. I like meat! I like cheese, dairy, eggs...I like it all. Well, I'm not that fond of fish so they're safe from me.

Are there those out there whose bodies truly can't handle meat and are true vegetarians? Our teeth are built for grinding and tearing and we're pretty efficient at eating meat when we want it. Although we do have to cook it to tenderize it but we can do it.

So, why do we decide to become vegan?

Moral grounds: To respect the animals of the earth.

Abhorrence: To be completely turned off by how animals are treated and slaughtered.

Health: To feel better over all, physically and mentally

Lent: To give it up for a period of days because of the religious reasons or to support the partner.

I'm more of a Temple Grandin. (Disclaimer: I saw the movie, but have yet to read her bio. Claire Danes was awesome in it!)

Animals are here for us, she says, but that doesn't us the right to treat them inhumanely.

I don't see anything wrong with eating eggs, drinking milk or cheese, which, of course, all come from animals, if they are treated humanely. And perhaps I'm putting my head in the sand, but I tend to purposefully not think about the animal as I'm eating it because if I do...I get grossed out. I know, it's a pretty big reason not to eat meat! But I honestly don't see anything wrong with the rest of it.

For quite a while I was dealing with infertility, unsuccessfully, and was advised to do all kinds of things like avoid coffee, put my legs over my head after having sex, lose weight...

Well, two out of three ain't bad...I didn't lose the weight and really didn't change much in the way of my eating habits. There's a part of me that feels guilty about that...if I had changed my way of eating and had lost the weight, would I have gotten pregnant? I don't know...my hormone levels could have changed and it may have worked. I have a little residual guilt about this. But then, I'm not sure I ever could have gotten pregnant.

I have a very small uterus...infantile uterus is what my doctor called it. An outdated term according to him but it's accurate.

As far as losing weight, you can't really talk anyone out of their vices until they're ready to lose those vices. You have to be really ready to lose the weight because no amount of badgering or guilt tripping or cajoling will make someone do what they're not ready to do.

What is my point...well, I guess that I'm hoping that I turn a corner and really take charge of my health and weight...and maybe this is the way to do it...

Well, off to eat roasted peppers, roasted potatoes and whatever else is in the fridge...

Cheers!

Day 3 Addendum

OK, so I take back the vegan dessert thing...sort of....

We got a cupcake from Swirlz thru Whole Foods and it was goooood!

The texture is different but the taste is rather comparable...good job!

Great Vegan Adventure: Day 3

Leftover Pad Thai (no egg, meat) and dark chocolate non nonpareils for breakfast...breakfast of champions? Works for me!

Yesterday, Pep and I went to Whole Foods to check out the vegan selections. I gotta tell you, vegan desserts are not the most appetizing looking but we'll see how the blueberry "cheesecake" and the "cupcake" is. We tried a sample of vegan curry "chicken" salad and, after tasting it, I thought "what's the point?" It doesn't taste like chicken and the consistency of the "chicken" was kind of rubbery. Not great. But we did get a bunch of other interesting things like beet salad with fennel, broccoli salad with garlic and red peppers and garden burgers. I actually like the garden burgers...we had them for lunch today with the beet salad, hummus, toasted pine nuts (which make a good snack), kalamata olives, etc.

Blatant plug alert:

We also bought the vegan tamales from Whole Foods made by my in-laws tamale company, Mexifeast. They distribute them locally to Whole Foods in the Chicago area. I actually have always preferred the vegan tamales over the veggie and cheese ones. So, America, vegan tamales do exist!! And, none of their tamales have lard!

End of blatant plug.

Don't worry...I'll only be paid in kisses from Pep.

Anyway, I was having a hard time seeing everything as I'm getting over this eye malady so we left with our myriad vegan things...which included spicy thai potato chips.

I'm not perfect, OK??

Today, so far so good! Honestly, it's not that big a deal...yet. I'm sure that at some point I'll be missing meat but for now, we're good. It's definitely good to do it together.

I had a voiceover audition today after being housebound with this eye thing. It was great to get out of the house, finally and it's always great to see the other actors I've been auditioning with for over 13 years. Good God...has it been that long? Wow...

My friend Darren asked me "So, what's up with this vegan thing? Come on, your family makes the best tamales...just eat tamales!" (He really did say that, I promise.) "Ooohh..." He lamented, "I always hate to see friends go to the Green side..."

"Don't worry" I assured him. "We make vegan tamales too! Besides, it's only for 40 days."

That seemed to soothe him.

So, after showing my crazy eye around and getting a few laughs out of it, we went and got a ton of vegetables. Tomorrow I'm finally going to make that roasted pepper stuffed with spinach, garlic, raisins and brown rice...or wild rice...mmmm!

I'll let you know how it is...

Cheers!

Great Vegan Adventure: Day 2

Day one down, 39 more to go...and perhaps...beyond?

So, last night I was excited to make some pesto pasta with veggies until I realized that the pesto has cheese!

Oh, the injustice!

"Back into the freezer, Pep."

Cooking on the fly can be fun actually. I sauteed some broccoli, onion and roughly chopped garlic and added the cooked whole grain pasta with more olive oil and let it all saute for a bit. It was really good! I even added a tiny bit of sesame oil to mine to see how it would taste. It didn't need it but it was good. I didn't even crave any kind of dessert!

It's almost as if a switch has gone on and I'm looking forward to what we can have. There is so much! The good thing is that Pep and I are doing this together which makes it a whole lot easier. And, ironically, we both have this contagious eye malady that's keeping us home so planning meals is fun!

Wait...

Vegan...the super cure??

Nah...probably not...but certainly good for our digestive systems and fabulous hair.

So, this morning:

Oatmeal with bananas and flax. Can't even taste the flax! And, it's good for you! Wow!

Pep and I have to go to the eye doctor today...Romantic, no? Afterward, we're going to indulge in curry tofu with potato, peas and brown rice and pad thai with tofu and no egg. We have to be careful though since even vegans can gain weight and I have to watch my blood sugar. And I suspect that the extra roughage will be bloat inducing at first but we'll get the hang of it.

OK, gotta get ready for our romantic trip to the doctor's office...except we can't hold hands..or touch each other...or...well, you know.

Vegans ho!

GVA Day One Lunch!

Mashed avocado with red onion and cabbage with salt on corn tortillas with toasted pine nuts. The pine nuts were a little stale because they'd been in the cupboard too long. They were still good but if they were fresher it would be even better.

I was stuffed by the time I was done! Perhaps a goodly amount of roughage helped? I had a snack of some almonds, V8 Juice, and a square of chocolate.

OK, sometimes my posts may be a little mundane, but at least you have another lunch idea!

Great Vegan Adventure: Day 1

Last year I went to a Women in Film dinner where I met a very cool couple who I have since become friends with and have since learned that they are vegan...no meat, no dairy, no animal products of any kind.

My husband, Pep, was intrigued by this notion and decided that he was going to go vegan for Lent. Which, again, means 40 days and 40 nights of no meat, no dairy, no animal products of any kind. My husband is an unabashed meat eater so this came as a bit of a surprise. He's known to give something up for Lent but this was a little extreme, I thought. He asked me if I would join him and, of course, I whined and complained about no animal products of any kind and said that "I'll go vegetarian but I don't know if I can live without eggs and cheese!" Fortunately he didn't push me but he did subtly encourage me to be his supportive partner...

"Blackmail!" I cried. Still...I whined and complained and said "Maybe. We'll see..."

But I started to think about it and thought "why not?" It's not like I'd be eating raw carrots every day. When you think about it, there are lots of things you can eat as a vegan.

I think it's good that I had so much time to think about it because now I'm looking forward to it. I'm pre-diabetic (which means I go in and out of high blood sugar), which runs in my family, and it's something I have to address sooner or later. If I lose even 10 lbs that will have a positive effect on my blood sugar.

Honestly, though, I don't have any expectations of losing weight but I know that's a probable by-product. I think I'm more concerned with feeling good physically, mentally...having more energy, not getting sleepy in the middle of the afternoon...these are the things I'm looking forward too.

We did have our Fat Tuesday...well, Fat Weekend really...and it didn't make me feel good. Oddly enough, though, I thought I'd be weighing at least 5 lbs more but I actually lost a pound or two. Weird. I think because we ate our junk food in one sitting as opposed to all day long. Still...

So, this begins Day 1 of the Vegan Adventure.

So far, oatmeal and bananas. (That's actually what I usually have in the morning so no big change there. BUT! Pep never eats breakfast so this is a good thing!)

Supportive comments, recipes and suggestions are, of course, welcome.

I actually have a recipe in mind already!

Roasted Red Peppers stuffed with Sauteed Fresh Spinach, garlic, raisins and Brown rice accompanied by Roasted Potatoes and Onions.

I'll let you know how it is!

Cheers!