The Vegan Experiment - Week Two

Week one was at times very easy and other times was very painful. Both Craig and I were detoxing with symptoms like headaches, irritability, hard time sleeping and at the same time feeling tired. It reminded me a lot of when I quit smoking. By the end of the week we were feeling better. Don't get me wrong, we weren't felling sick 24 hours a day. There were just moments of these symptoms but when they were there it was intense.
This weeks menu was a bit intimidating because I had to plan for a camping trip this weekend. (I hope we get a site!) I scheduled in 2 snacks a day again but I found in week one that most times I didn't need to eat that much. I put them in again just in case.....getting hungry will be my downfall. I will drive far and wide to get comfort food!

The main meal is the Moroccan Couscous with Saffron. I found this recipe in Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet. An excellent book with many meal plans, recipes, info and great pictures. 

You may notice that I am eating lots of peanut butter. It's a comfort food for sure but the new Safeway line of products called Open Nature has a great peanut butter! There is only one ingredient: peanuts. Love it! So this week I decided to make a peanut butter, chocolate, oat muffin for our snacks. Looks filling and yummy. 

So far temptation to eat non vegan food has not plagued me. This morning when I walked into the Safeway they were baking cheese buns. The whole store smelled like melted cheese!!!! While it smelled really good I didn't feel tempted to eat them. I did linger in the bakery section to take the smell in. I feel this is a good sign. 

We did have some Gardein meatless burgers this weekend that were pretty good....I would eat them again. They were a bit dry but that just means I have to put more condiments on. I love condiments!!! More pickles would be good! Wish I could get my hands on the yummy vegan burger they have at Rebar in Victoria.

The Vegan Experiment - Prep

Usually I only meal plan for when we are going on a family trip or camping. But to be successful in our vegan experiment meal planning is a necessity. I posted a pic of our first week meal  plan in my last blog post, The Vegan Experiment - The Beginning. There are a few meal and supplies I will need to make ahead of time like: almond milk, cashew cream, banana coconut muffins, a hearty stew and pasta salad.



I have made nut milk in the past so that part is easy. A batch of almond milk for breakfast cereal and oatmeal. The almond milk is on the left. I had to purchase a new blender and decided to go with the Ninja that is available at crappy tire. It is a fabulous blender! I highly recommend it. On the right is the cashew cream for coffee and sometimes tea. Because the blender is so awesome I didn't have to strain the cashew cream. Thanks Maurie for the tip on the blender. Paid $80 for 1000w.

For lunches we are having quinoa, kale and bean stew. It is very hearty and tasty!

 

Banana & coconut muffins for snacks. I made them with whole wheat flour so they would be filling. This is the first time using an egg substitute. Just mixed a little ground flax seed with some water & it made a small bowl of sticky goop. And it is a great source of omega 3s!

I have been making my own sprouts for years. It is very easy and I don't have to worry about contaminated sprouts from the store. I put them in a mason jar with cheese cloth stretched over the lid. The first day they soak in water then for the following 3 days I rinse and drain the water in the morning and before bed. From start to finish about 4 days and yummy sprouts! 

As long as I have something to put in my mouth when I am hungry or just need a snack I should survive. The prep was not hard and there is so much info on the internet. I can look up anything! Anything! 

My Vegan Experiment - The Beginning

I am stuck in a world of comfort food and becoming dependant on having comfort food for every little let down or disappointment of the day. A container of peanut butter and chocolate ice cream feels really good when I just went through a session of mentally beating myself up. And we have to have chips and pop to watch Hell's Kitchen and Masterchef. Comfort junk food has become our norm and that's not good.

My biggest addiction is burgers and fries.

The crazy thing is that I love to cook. I love the prep time, getting everything ready to put together into a fabulous dish. I love meals that are full of colour and vibrant from many different types of veggies. I just don't have the drive or energy to do it when I have a house full of easy to eat comfort junk food around. It is a vicious circle.

Last year Craig, my husband, and I went on the 4 Hour Body diet. It was an intense change as we couldn't eat anything white, no fruit and had to eat every 4 hours. So no rice, bread, milk, cheese, sugar or yummy fruit. We lived on beans, meat and veggies for about eight months. We lost a lot of weight and fast! But as soon as we stop we gained it all back. Craig gained more than he lost and I gained most of it back less ten pounds. It was another fad diet telling us that it wasn't a fad diet. But if you need to loose weight fast it is a great way to go. I cannot look at another can of refried beans.....which is what I ate for lunch or dinner everyday. Refried beans with a piece of chicken or a small beef steak and a huge mound of peas.
A couple of months ago there was a huge release of the movie "Hungry for Change". It was all over Facebook and Twitter. I watched the movie online and ended up ordering it and the cookbook. It was great motivation and a big eye opening for me. The one thing that stuck in my head after watching it was that when people eat comfort junk food that they are always hungry. The body is searching for nutrients and healthy sustenance. It just rang true with my new lazy food lifestyle. I was always hungry and I wasn't getting any nourishment.
My body needs a restart! Craig's too. So we are going vegan for 30 days starting on Monday, July 23. I am all about extremes.
Craig and I are going to sign a 30 day vegan pledge through PETA. I have set the meal plan for the first week. Purposefully not adding any meat substitute for the first week for me as this will not go over well. Craig can handle tofu but I cannot. I probably won't add it into my meal plan for the whole 30 days if I can get away with it.

Week One Meal Plan

I will be preparing a few of the meals ahead of time so that I don't get overwhelmed once the detoxing from junk happens. I will be weak at the beginning and I am sure that second week is going to be a bitch! 

I am planning to keep this blog up to date with our adventure. I hope you enjoy it.