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!