Well when it was time for solid food again at lunch on Friday, we went to Fresh Mint. It is a vegetarian/vegan restaurant with a Vietnamese flare. It started in Maui in the same town as Mama's Fish House and is still there and in Scottsdale. http://www.freshmint.us.com/ It was spectacular. For dinner we had penne with meatlessballs and grilled veggies. Saturday we remained Vegan until we hit a snack on the road at Sprinkles, the cupcake place. Unfortunately, it was not the BEST cupcake I ever ate and was actually dry. So our real break the vegan was at dinner at Coupe des Tartes (http://nicetartes.com/). We had a Group On. It was very good especially as I ate my brie and Jillian had her pate terrain. Then we moved on to salmon for Jillian and I had a pork tenderloin. Dessert was cheese for Jillian and I had a Smore Tarte. The truth is the meal was good but not spectacular, I much prefer POSH (http://www.poshscottsdale.com/), and am looking forward to going back there.
This experience has been a good one. I have learned there is much we can eat that is not animal based and am willing to continue to eat like this on occasion to add variety into the diet. However, I still love meat and cheese and am not giving it up.
I hope you have enjoyed my little trip down Vegan lane as this is my last entry.
Veg Out!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Day 6 - Easy Vegan
It's easy being a Vegan if one can only have liquids. Veggie broth, water, frozen powerade popsiciles, and Gatorade. Jillian has leftovers of Indian food and falafel. Sorry not much more to say today. Tomorrow we will focus on lunch out and then dinner. Then we eat meat...
Veg Out!
Veg Out!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Day 5 - The Lunch Challenge and Dinner
So the rest of the AM was as usual...type, type , type, stop eat some breakfast bar and some fruit...type, type , type. Then it was time for lunch. I was meeting a colleague at CPK, what am I going to eat? I can't have cheese, will be tempted. NOPE! I had some tortilla soup and this great grilled veggie salad, no peppers and sans dressing. http://cpk.com/menu/salads/. I highly recommend it. It has art hearts, asparagus, eggpplant, and then avocado. No dressing was needed. Phew!
But since I survived not eating CPK's pizza we made our own for dinner. We had whole wheat dough from TJ's and then I grilled some veggies while Jillian made the Mockzzarella. Yep, make your own "cheese." Actually, NOPE! It was not cheese. It was yeast dissolved in water with thickener. We added some cayenne to spice it up. It really looked more like Nacho Cheese consistency. Yet we had our grilled pizza and we are still alive. Which is more than I can say for the leftover "cheese." If you want to give it a try you can find everything you need at Whole Foods and just follow the recipe. http://www.ivu.org/recipes/italian/mozzarella-j.html
So tomorrow starts my liquid diet until mid-Friday, so I probably will not have much to say about the Veggie Broth I am having and the Gatorade and ice pops. So you may not hear from me until after lunch on Friday, when we brave going out again. I am looking forward to Friday's dinner, the last of the Vegan meals...Penne Arrabiatta with Meatlessballs.
Veg Out!
But since I survived not eating CPK's pizza we made our own for dinner. We had whole wheat dough from TJ's and then I grilled some veggies while Jillian made the Mockzzarella. Yep, make your own "cheese." Actually, NOPE! It was not cheese. It was yeast dissolved in water with thickener. We added some cayenne to spice it up. It really looked more like Nacho Cheese consistency. Yet we had our grilled pizza and we are still alive. Which is more than I can say for the leftover "cheese." If you want to give it a try you can find everything you need at Whole Foods and just follow the recipe. http://www.ivu.org/recipes/italian/mozzarella-j.html
So tomorrow starts my liquid diet until mid-Friday, so I probably will not have much to say about the Veggie Broth I am having and the Gatorade and ice pops. So you may not hear from me until after lunch on Friday, when we brave going out again. I am looking forward to Friday's dinner, the last of the Vegan meals...Penne Arrabiatta with Meatlessballs.
Veg Out!
Day 4 - Rest of the Day and Day 5 Breakfast
The rest of the day was uneventful. Lunch was leftover soup from the night before and a nectarine. Had a pretzel snack, and then for dinner we had a sweet potato, lentil, and veggie bake with a slight Indian touch to it. It was not good. So much so I am not going to post the recipe. This brought us to a discussion about Wednesday's dinner which I was not looking forward to. We decided on grilled pizza with veggies. We will be making some type of "cheese" sauce which I will report on later.
For breakfast today I had half a baked potato left over from the potato scones topped with the Indian leftovers from Sunday. That was delicious. I followed it up with some watermelon and V-8.
Looking forward to a lunch challenge today, as I am eating out at CPK. They have a salad that looked good so I am keeping my fingers crossed.
Veg Out!
For breakfast today I had half a baked potato left over from the potato scones topped with the Indian leftovers from Sunday. That was delicious. I followed it up with some watermelon and V-8.
Looking forward to a lunch challenge today, as I am eating out at CPK. They have a salad that looked good so I am keeping my fingers crossed.
Veg Out!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Day 4 - Breakfast
Almost halfway through and breakfast was not the same without Jillian. She took yesterday off, so we had breakfast together three days in a row, and today I went through withdrawal. ;0(
I woke up and finished my yummy breakfast bar from yesterday. I just wonder how long they last, so we can make them and have them instead of granola bars. They are so good. See the recipe from Day 2. After doing some writing for my paper due on Friday (plan is to finish by Thursday AM), I warmed up some Quinoa, added a touch of agave nectar and soy milk, a dash of salt, and half a banana. It was cereal. I enjoyed it, and did not miss the FACON.
More Later.
Veg Out!
I woke up and finished my yummy breakfast bar from yesterday. I just wonder how long they last, so we can make them and have them instead of granola bars. They are so good. See the recipe from Day 2. After doing some writing for my paper due on Friday (plan is to finish by Thursday AM), I warmed up some Quinoa, added a touch of agave nectar and soy milk, a dash of salt, and half a banana. It was cereal. I enjoyed it, and did not miss the FACON.
More Later.
Veg Out!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Day 3 - This is easy?
So, here we are with just about an hour left of day 3, and this is not hard. I do not feel hungry, there is plenty of food to eat, and as much as I love meat I am not missing it or craving it.
Breakfast started off with a tofu scramble and a potato scone, with some more Facon and fruit compote. The potato scone reminded me of a knish, except it was REALLY dry. It smothered it in fruit compote.
Lunch was a Chickpea, Art Heart and Tomato Salad with Romaine. We substituted romaine for arugula because that is what we had in the house. http://www.vegetariantimes.com/lunchchallenge/day4/
For snack in the afternoon I had a white peach, some pretzels and part of a breakfast bar. Those are just plan yummy!
Dinner was Spicy Asian Dumpling Soup. It was delicious. Lots of veggies, some wheat noodles and veggie pot stickers we bought at TJ's. I recommend this any day of the week. http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/352
That is it for today. It is late and I have a long day of writing my final paper for my current class.
Veg Out!
Breakfast started off with a tofu scramble and a potato scone, with some more Facon and fruit compote. The potato scone reminded me of a knish, except it was REALLY dry. It smothered it in fruit compote.
Lunch was a Chickpea, Art Heart and Tomato Salad with Romaine. We substituted romaine for arugula because that is what we had in the house. http://www.vegetariantimes.com/lunchchallenge/day4/
For snack in the afternoon I had a white peach, some pretzels and part of a breakfast bar. Those are just plan yummy!
Dinner was Spicy Asian Dumpling Soup. It was delicious. Lots of veggies, some wheat noodles and veggie pot stickers we bought at TJ's. I recommend this any day of the week. http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/352
That is it for today. It is late and I have a long day of writing my final paper for my current class.
Veg Out!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Day 2 - Food
So here it is Sunday afternoon and two meals down, and still alive, and not craving meat. I miss cheese more than meat, but probably because I am so used to eating cheese sticks.
Breakfast Jillian made some yummy wheat flour pancakes. They were a little heavy so I am wondering if the batter needed to be whisked. However on top we had fruit compote, and on the side FACON. Yes, we tried it again. This time it was better since we were able to chew it. It reminded me of something from a long time ago, which we laughed about last night, Sizzlean, but without the processed meat. For those of you who do not remember or even know what it is here is a link...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KERQgZJcE2M.
Lunch was a Spicy Banh Mi sandwich. This is Vietnamese Street Food. This was actually my first exposure to it. We put marinated and baked tofu on it, with cucumber, tomato, cilantro, lettuce, and a carrot and Daikon radish quick slaw. There was a sauce of tamari (or a sweet soy sauce) and spicy garlic paste. This was all piled high on a toasted piece of baguette. YUM! I could see putting turkey on it, but this was very satisfying. In honor of Oprah we had chips with it, because she said she ate chips because they were Vegan. Here is a link to the recipe. (We left off the mayo). http://www.vegetariantimes.com/lunchchallenge/day3/
Dinner is already in the making and I know will be delicious. I made a Moroccan Carrot Salad, which is now chilling in the fridge and then I am going to make up some Falafel to have on pita with eggplant hummus from Trader Joe's. We will bake the falafel for a healthier version. Ah, falafel, bringing back the good old days of college, when the fraternity would invite our parents for a weekend, and then put them to work at the Jewish Festival in Santa Barbara selling falafel as a fundraiser. But it was good falafel, and the more money we made the less we needed to ask for from them. For dessert we will have a no bake cookie made out of rolled oats. Follow the link and "bake" them up...http://www.ivu.org/recipes/snacks/chocolate-oatmeal.html.
Moroccan Carrot Salad from the Ultimate Book of Vegan Cooking p. 140
3-4 organic carrots thinly sliced (Using organic carrots is better because carrots suck everything out of the ground so they are sometimes used as a ground cleanser, so eating pesticide ala carrot is not fun).
1 tsp agave nectar
1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar or a fruit vinegar like raspberry
2 garlic cloves chopped
1/4 heaping teaspoon of cumin (to taste)
1/4 teaspoon of paprika (my addition)
juice of 1/2 lemon
2-3 tablespoons of EVOO
2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste
Slice the carrots using a mandeline (they will look like soap chips ala Woody Woodpecker http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGHlBTI0iMo). Place them in a steamer and cook until just tender. Cool slightly and place in a bowl.
Combine the agave and vinegar, and then add the garlic, salt and pepper, paprika, and lemon juice. While whisking constantly slowly stream in the EVOO. Poor the dressing over the carrots and stir.
Chop the cilantro and parsley and mix into the carrots and dressing.
You can let it sit or eat immediately.
We will have our Mediterranean meal this evening watching Black Swan. I hope there is no cruelty to animals since it is Vegan Week.
Veg Out!
Breakfast Jillian made some yummy wheat flour pancakes. They were a little heavy so I am wondering if the batter needed to be whisked. However on top we had fruit compote, and on the side FACON. Yes, we tried it again. This time it was better since we were able to chew it. It reminded me of something from a long time ago, which we laughed about last night, Sizzlean, but without the processed meat. For those of you who do not remember or even know what it is here is a link...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KERQgZJcE2M.
Lunch was a Spicy Banh Mi sandwich. This is Vietnamese Street Food. This was actually my first exposure to it. We put marinated and baked tofu on it, with cucumber, tomato, cilantro, lettuce, and a carrot and Daikon radish quick slaw. There was a sauce of tamari (or a sweet soy sauce) and spicy garlic paste. This was all piled high on a toasted piece of baguette. YUM! I could see putting turkey on it, but this was very satisfying. In honor of Oprah we had chips with it, because she said she ate chips because they were Vegan. Here is a link to the recipe. (We left off the mayo). http://www.vegetariantimes.com/lunchchallenge/day3/
Dinner is already in the making and I know will be delicious. I made a Moroccan Carrot Salad, which is now chilling in the fridge and then I am going to make up some Falafel to have on pita with eggplant hummus from Trader Joe's. We will bake the falafel for a healthier version. Ah, falafel, bringing back the good old days of college, when the fraternity would invite our parents for a weekend, and then put them to work at the Jewish Festival in Santa Barbara selling falafel as a fundraiser. But it was good falafel, and the more money we made the less we needed to ask for from them. For dessert we will have a no bake cookie made out of rolled oats. Follow the link and "bake" them up...http://www.ivu.org/recipes/snacks/chocolate-oatmeal.html.
Moroccan Carrot Salad from the Ultimate Book of Vegan Cooking p. 140
3-4 organic carrots thinly sliced (Using organic carrots is better because carrots suck everything out of the ground so they are sometimes used as a ground cleanser, so eating pesticide ala carrot is not fun).
1 tsp agave nectar
1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar or a fruit vinegar like raspberry
2 garlic cloves chopped
1/4 heaping teaspoon of cumin (to taste)
1/4 teaspoon of paprika (my addition)
juice of 1/2 lemon
2-3 tablespoons of EVOO
2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste
Slice the carrots using a mandeline (they will look like soap chips ala Woody Woodpecker http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGHlBTI0iMo). Place them in a steamer and cook until just tender. Cool slightly and place in a bowl.
Combine the agave and vinegar, and then add the garlic, salt and pepper, paprika, and lemon juice. While whisking constantly slowly stream in the EVOO. Poor the dressing over the carrots and stir.
Chop the cilantro and parsley and mix into the carrots and dressing.
You can let it sit or eat immediately.
We will have our Mediterranean meal this evening watching Black Swan. I hope there is no cruelty to animals since it is Vegan Week.
Veg Out!
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Day 1-Lunch and Dinner (and Snacks)
Almost 22 hours into the Vegan for a Week Challenge and I am still alive. I found out tonight that Jillian asked me off the cuff not expecting I would say yes. Well HA!
Lunch was a SW Style Salad. It had romaine, grape tomatoes, cilantro, avocado and salsa dressing, and RAW corn. It was white corn and luckily it was very sweet, because it was not cooked. It was yummy. We has some flax seed tortilla chips from Trader Joe's with it, and I had some cherries. The cute thing about the cherries was I had lunch with my friend Eric and his kids. The little boy wanted to have a cherry, one for each hand or else he would not have been happy. I was very surprised at how well he handled the pits, for a two year old.
Before dinner, I had some more pretzels, a piece of dried papaya, and a couple of triangles of pita.
Dinner Jillian made an Indian Feast and we were joined by our friend Penny. We started with one of our South Beach favs, Indian Tomato Soup. I would bore you with the recipe, but I found this link on the internet for it, so click it and make it.
http://www.umiacs.umd.edu/~hollingk/recipes/indian-tomato-soup.txt
For our main dish we had Indian-Spiced Vegetable Stew from the Kashi website.
http://www.kashi.com/recipes/124
This was very flavorful even without the mustard seed (thanks honey-I do not like mustard). I could see having it again, but adding some more veggies like zucchini and carrots.
We had a yummy Mango Lhasa to help cool the pallet from the heat. This came from a colorful cookbook we bought at the Half Price Bookstore on Thursday night, The Ultimate Book of Vegan Cooking. Page 97.
1 Mango
1.25 cups of soy milk
Zest of 1 lime (green only the white is bitter)
1 TB of fresh lime juice
1-2 TB of Agave Nectar/Syrup (remember no honey)
Cut up the mango, and place all of the ingredients in a blender and run until smooth.
Some fresh mint would have been a nice addition and I would have it again.
Dessert, as if there was room. Was a tofutti "ice cream" sandwich, http://www.tofutti.com/. These are good either as a Vegan or not.
So with day one almost behind us, we are looking forward to day 2 and special pancakes.
Veg Out!
Lunch was a SW Style Salad. It had romaine, grape tomatoes, cilantro, avocado and salsa dressing, and RAW corn. It was white corn and luckily it was very sweet, because it was not cooked. It was yummy. We has some flax seed tortilla chips from Trader Joe's with it, and I had some cherries. The cute thing about the cherries was I had lunch with my friend Eric and his kids. The little boy wanted to have a cherry, one for each hand or else he would not have been happy. I was very surprised at how well he handled the pits, for a two year old.
Before dinner, I had some more pretzels, a piece of dried papaya, and a couple of triangles of pita.
Dinner Jillian made an Indian Feast and we were joined by our friend Penny. We started with one of our South Beach favs, Indian Tomato Soup. I would bore you with the recipe, but I found this link on the internet for it, so click it and make it.
http://www.umiacs.umd.edu/~hollingk/recipes/indian-tomato-soup.txt
For our main dish we had Indian-Spiced Vegetable Stew from the Kashi website.
http://www.kashi.com/recipes/124
This was very flavorful even without the mustard seed (thanks honey-I do not like mustard). I could see having it again, but adding some more veggies like zucchini and carrots.
We had a yummy Mango Lhasa to help cool the pallet from the heat. This came from a colorful cookbook we bought at the Half Price Bookstore on Thursday night, The Ultimate Book of Vegan Cooking. Page 97.
1 Mango
1.25 cups of soy milk
Zest of 1 lime (green only the white is bitter)
1 TB of fresh lime juice
1-2 TB of Agave Nectar/Syrup (remember no honey)
Cut up the mango, and place all of the ingredients in a blender and run until smooth.
Some fresh mint would have been a nice addition and I would have it again.
Dessert, as if there was room. Was a tofutti "ice cream" sandwich, http://www.tofutti.com/. These are good either as a Vegan or not.
So with day one almost behind us, we are looking forward to day 2 and special pancakes.
Veg Out!
Day 1-Breakfast-Facon It
We are now T-Plus eight hours and twenty-seven minutes into the challenge and still alive. This morning I weighed in just to see what happens, and then found my wife in the kitchen making LUNCH, so it is ready to go. Then I made breakfast. We had a SW Tofu Scramble with zucchini. It was seasoned with cumin, chili powder, scallion, garlic (everything tastes better with garlic) and salt. It was a good beginning because I have had other tofu scrambles when we did South Beach eating. Jillian made a wonderful fruit salad of nectarines, cherries (she pitted them), and organic blueberries, which were on sale yesterday at Whole Foods for $1.99 but today they are $6.99. The are not too sweet so barely worth the $1.99 let alone $6.99 for a pint. The not so great part of the meal was the bacon or as I am calling it facon. There may have been an overcooked element to it, but it was cardboard. We will try it again another morning, but I am not too hopeful.
Meal 1 has been survived. The question is how long until I need a snack?
Veg Out!
Meal 1 has been survived. The question is how long until I need a snack?
Veg Out!
Friday, June 17, 2011
The Shopping
With all good food, unless it is grown in the backyard, which in Phoenix we have not figured out how to do yet with the hot sun and lack of water, one needs to go shopping for food.
This trip to Sprouts was a little different, besides the Buffalo Steak I bought for tonight's dinner (YUM!) everything was Vegan and most was a vegetable. Most of the items I have purchased before, lettuce, cilantro, Serrano chili, parsley, lemons, limes, bananas, tomatoes, cherries, tofu, cucumber, squash, and even the quinoa (a grain not a vegetable for those who do not know). However, I have never bought or used a Daikon radish before. Daikon is a LARGE Japanese root vegetable and I had no idea how much we needed. So I got a medium sized piece since there were no bunches of multiple radishes. I am guessing there is not a big calling for them here in the desert. I do not know what we will be using it for, besides eating, but I am excited to try it.
So I did some shopping at home today too, to see what my wife bought at Trader Joe's last night. One of the most exciting things was Vegan wine. My guess is it tastes just like other wine, but probably more expensive because the bottle says Organic. There was also a weird baked and marinated tofu in the fridge, which now sits next to more extra firm tofu I bought in the store. To my pleasure there are PA Dutch Sourdough pretzels for me to munch on, and I bought some dehydrated veggie chips for crunch too. For the sweet tooth in me I bought some chocolate licorice. I know what you are saying we are going to eat so well and then to buy chocolate licorice, well, I am going to the movies on Monday I need to be able to eat something, and besides I verified the ingredients VEGAN.
I also had to hit Costco for Agave Nectar since honey is out. While there they were sampling a 100% Vegan vegetable patty. At least they do not call it a 100% Vegan hamburger (Although hamburgers are not made of ham so that really does not make sense either. But that is another Blog). I do find it humorous that they say it is 100% Vegan, could it be only 50% Vegan? I understand for the year 2011 I will be 1/52 Vegan, but how can a food product be partially Vegan? If you eat the left half it is Vegan, but the right side is not. And what happens if it gets turned around I wouldn't know which side was which. Crazy marketing!
So far I would not agree that this way of eating is less expensive, since I spent over double what we normally spend at Sprouts for a week, and I am not sure if this food is just for a couple of days or what? And this does not count the TJ's and Costco.
So the final countdown is upon me as I get ready to grill our steak soon. It will taste delicious and be missed for next 7days...
Veg Out!
This trip to Sprouts was a little different, besides the Buffalo Steak I bought for tonight's dinner (YUM!) everything was Vegan and most was a vegetable. Most of the items I have purchased before, lettuce, cilantro, Serrano chili, parsley, lemons, limes, bananas, tomatoes, cherries, tofu, cucumber, squash, and even the quinoa (a grain not a vegetable for those who do not know). However, I have never bought or used a Daikon radish before. Daikon is a LARGE Japanese root vegetable and I had no idea how much we needed. So I got a medium sized piece since there were no bunches of multiple radishes. I am guessing there is not a big calling for them here in the desert. I do not know what we will be using it for, besides eating, but I am excited to try it.
So I did some shopping at home today too, to see what my wife bought at Trader Joe's last night. One of the most exciting things was Vegan wine. My guess is it tastes just like other wine, but probably more expensive because the bottle says Organic. There was also a weird baked and marinated tofu in the fridge, which now sits next to more extra firm tofu I bought in the store. To my pleasure there are PA Dutch Sourdough pretzels for me to munch on, and I bought some dehydrated veggie chips for crunch too. For the sweet tooth in me I bought some chocolate licorice. I know what you are saying we are going to eat so well and then to buy chocolate licorice, well, I am going to the movies on Monday I need to be able to eat something, and besides I verified the ingredients VEGAN.
I also had to hit Costco for Agave Nectar since honey is out. While there they were sampling a 100% Vegan vegetable patty. At least they do not call it a 100% Vegan hamburger (Although hamburgers are not made of ham so that really does not make sense either. But that is another Blog). I do find it humorous that they say it is 100% Vegan, could it be only 50% Vegan? I understand for the year 2011 I will be 1/52 Vegan, but how can a food product be partially Vegan? If you eat the left half it is Vegan, but the right side is not. And what happens if it gets turned around I wouldn't know which side was which. Crazy marketing!
So far I would not agree that this way of eating is less expensive, since I spent over double what we normally spend at Sprouts for a week, and I am not sure if this food is just for a couple of days or what? And this does not count the TJ's and Costco.
So the final countdown is upon me as I get ready to grill our steak soon. It will taste delicious and be missed for next 7days...
Veg Out!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Did You Know...
Today was a day finding out about things that we could or could not have. My wife is still not certain on a few things and the menu for Saturday is still up in the air, but we did find out that things one would think are ok to eat as a Vegan are not, because of one little ingredient.
Did you know sourdough pretzels from Costco have buttermilk in them...NOT VEGAN!
Did you know the Morningstar products for breakfast sausage etc have egg white in them...NOT VEGAN!
Did you know Jell-O and all gelatin products are off the list and...NOT VEGAN!
Did you know honey...NOT VEGAN!
Did you know Quaker Chewy Granola Bars have nonfat milk powder...NOT VEGAN!
Did you know there is a yeast you can add to things which adds protein and a cheesy type of consistency...VEGAN!
Did you know there is VEGAN Beer and Wine?
Did you know Trader Joe's is Vegan Friendly? They provide a list on their website of VEGAN products they sell. Items include: juice, soy milk, bubbly juice, DARK CHOCOLATE, Animal Crackers, tons of cereal choices, dried fruits and nuts, tater tots (but not latkas), sweet potato fries, fresh fruits and veggies of course, balsamic vinegar and dressings, KC BBQ Sauce, SDT, Arborio rice, Israeli Couscous, almond butter, apple sauce, peanut butter, rice noodles, veggie broth, tofu, bagel chips, pita chips, popcorn, Veggie and Flaxseed chips and salsa. Plus 5 and half full pages of stuff, just no meat, that's not Vegan.
So we are down to a final countdown tomorrow to Veganism and I am intrigued by it, because what is 7 days? 7 days is 1/52 of a year, 168 hours, 10,080 minutes, and just 604,800 seconds.
Veg Out!
Did you know sourdough pretzels from Costco have buttermilk in them...NOT VEGAN!
Did you know the Morningstar products for breakfast sausage etc have egg white in them...NOT VEGAN!
Did you know Jell-O and all gelatin products are off the list and...NOT VEGAN!
Did you know honey...NOT VEGAN!
Did you know Quaker Chewy Granola Bars have nonfat milk powder...NOT VEGAN!
Did you know there is a yeast you can add to things which adds protein and a cheesy type of consistency...VEGAN!
Did you know there is VEGAN Beer and Wine?
Did you know Trader Joe's is Vegan Friendly? They provide a list on their website of VEGAN products they sell. Items include: juice, soy milk, bubbly juice, DARK CHOCOLATE, Animal Crackers, tons of cereal choices, dried fruits and nuts, tater tots (but not latkas), sweet potato fries, fresh fruits and veggies of course, balsamic vinegar and dressings, KC BBQ Sauce, SDT, Arborio rice, Israeli Couscous, almond butter, apple sauce, peanut butter, rice noodles, veggie broth, tofu, bagel chips, pita chips, popcorn, Veggie and Flaxseed chips and salsa. Plus 5 and half full pages of stuff, just no meat, that's not Vegan.
So we are down to a final countdown tomorrow to Veganism and I am intrigued by it, because what is 7 days? 7 days is 1/52 of a year, 168 hours, 10,080 minutes, and just 604,800 seconds.
Veg Out!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
The Disappointment
So we checked out some products and found out I cannot have the buffalo nuggets I like, nor the pretzels we have.
The question is can we have honey? Or because it is a by-product of an animal, it is not Vegan?
The things one needs to think about...
Veg Out!
The question is can we have honey? Or because it is a by-product of an animal, it is not Vegan?
The things one needs to think about...
Veg Out!
Soy Cheese and Milk...
My wife came up with this title as she wrote to a friend asking what kind should we get. Of course this is before she remembers we have soy milk in the house. In fact, having soy milk for a week instead of skim milk is not going to be a big deal for me. I like soy milk. However, a colleague of hers said I should try almond milk because apparently soy milk is a testosterone inhibitor (no scientific fact here, just going with the hearsay).
Anyway, now on to more important things...CHEESE! I love cheese. We buy the LARGE Costco sized string cheese and I am known to have at least one a day. I am not sure how I will survive without my cheese, but apparently soy cheese is out there. As is soy beef, soy chicken, soy soy, and if we look hard enough probably soy vegetables (aka edamame-YUM!). I must admit we have had some of the Morning Star products which one of my favorites is the buffalo nuggets and even the breakfast sausage patties are eatable. Which leads us to probably the most difficult meal of the day for me...BREAKFAST!
I eat all types of things for breakfast, but many times it is egg cups. So what to eat instead. According to my wife's colleague Quinoa is good with a milk substitute, like cereal. It provides texture which is one of the things he claims we will miss the most. Which brings us to snacks! Yes snacks! I eat throughout the day trying not to gorge (note the word trying). However, I need my snacks to give me a break from reading the next greatest article about cloning and corporate social responsibility (at least this week anyway). Next week will be all about Wal-Mart as I write my final paper. But I digress, but isn't that what a blog is about? Anyway, snacks are necessary, and we will have to line some up for throughout the day. I am hoping I can have pretzels for the crunch and I can have my cashews, but what about chocolate, and those little soy joy ice cream fake sandwiches, is that dairy or just soy and a viable choice in the Phoenix heat? We will have to see.
The last thing I learned today, is supposedly it is less expensive to be Vegan. Be Vegan and have more money for vacation. Hmm it is a consideration, but I do not think it is going to fly with this meatasaurous for long term. Anyway tonight, we are serving up a MEAT dish with chicken, spicy chicken sausage, and chicken Andouille sausage ala Rachel Ray. It is going to be hot and spicy and I cannot wait.
Veg out!
Anyway, now on to more important things...CHEESE! I love cheese. We buy the LARGE Costco sized string cheese and I am known to have at least one a day. I am not sure how I will survive without my cheese, but apparently soy cheese is out there. As is soy beef, soy chicken, soy soy, and if we look hard enough probably soy vegetables (aka edamame-YUM!). I must admit we have had some of the Morning Star products which one of my favorites is the buffalo nuggets and even the breakfast sausage patties are eatable. Which leads us to probably the most difficult meal of the day for me...BREAKFAST!
I eat all types of things for breakfast, but many times it is egg cups. So what to eat instead. According to my wife's colleague Quinoa is good with a milk substitute, like cereal. It provides texture which is one of the things he claims we will miss the most. Which brings us to snacks! Yes snacks! I eat throughout the day trying not to gorge (note the word trying). However, I need my snacks to give me a break from reading the next greatest article about cloning and corporate social responsibility (at least this week anyway). Next week will be all about Wal-Mart as I write my final paper. But I digress, but isn't that what a blog is about? Anyway, snacks are necessary, and we will have to line some up for throughout the day. I am hoping I can have pretzels for the crunch and I can have my cashews, but what about chocolate, and those little soy joy ice cream fake sandwiches, is that dairy or just soy and a viable choice in the Phoenix heat? We will have to see.
The last thing I learned today, is supposedly it is less expensive to be Vegan. Be Vegan and have more money for vacation. Hmm it is a consideration, but I do not think it is going to fly with this meatasaurous for long term. Anyway tonight, we are serving up a MEAT dish with chicken, spicy chicken sausage, and chicken Andouille sausage ala Rachel Ray. It is going to be hot and spicy and I cannot wait.
Veg out!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
The Challenge
So there we (my wife and I) were sitting on the couch after a delicious dinner with some meat in it, and what happens? OPRAH! That is right, OPRAH! On the Behind the Scenes episode we are watching they decide to go VEGAN for a week. Then what happens, my wife says, "Do you wanna do it?" Now being a guy, we all know what I thought, and said "YES!" Of course then she said, "When do you want to start?" I say, "The sooner the better." The next thing I know I am offering to drive her to the Half Price Book Store (I love that place!) to get a Vegan Cookbook. Not what I was expecting, but hey I do love food so why not?
On Saturday June 18 we will start our Vegan for a Week. Why Saturday, well I am going to cheat. On Thursday I can only have liquids anyway, so I figure it would be a good time to not be having meat for a few days before.
How does one prepare to go Vegan for a week? Well, we have a cookbook and we have already discussed how we can have spaghetti and meatlessballs, with no cheese, and how we can still partake in $1 kid scoop night at Baskin Robbins with their Daiquiri Ice. (We went there tonight, because I drove her to the bookstore.) One then remembers no jello and no milk, but what about egg substitute? These are all things we are going to explore as the meatasaurous goes Vegan for a Week.
To all of my friends, please understand when I get crabby it is nothing personal, I am just going through a meat detox. I have done a sugar detox before, and that was not pretty, so who knows what this will be like. Gee, I hope Lady Gaga isn't in town in her meat dress, it would be tempting to fire up the BBQ...
If you have done this please let us know how it was for you, and if you have any great recipes to share.
Over the next week and a half I will write about my experience, what we have eaten, the recipes, was it easy to prepare, and would I eat it again. And who knows what else...
Sit back, relax, hopefully laugh a bit, and maybe even learn a thing or two as we embark on this culinary exploration of meatless food.
On Saturday June 18 we will start our Vegan for a Week. Why Saturday, well I am going to cheat. On Thursday I can only have liquids anyway, so I figure it would be a good time to not be having meat for a few days before.
How does one prepare to go Vegan for a week? Well, we have a cookbook and we have already discussed how we can have spaghetti and meatlessballs, with no cheese, and how we can still partake in $1 kid scoop night at Baskin Robbins with their Daiquiri Ice. (We went there tonight, because I drove her to the bookstore.) One then remembers no jello and no milk, but what about egg substitute? These are all things we are going to explore as the meatasaurous goes Vegan for a Week.
To all of my friends, please understand when I get crabby it is nothing personal, I am just going through a meat detox. I have done a sugar detox before, and that was not pretty, so who knows what this will be like. Gee, I hope Lady Gaga isn't in town in her meat dress, it would be tempting to fire up the BBQ...
If you have done this please let us know how it was for you, and if you have any great recipes to share.
Over the next week and a half I will write about my experience, what we have eaten, the recipes, was it easy to prepare, and would I eat it again. And who knows what else...
Sit back, relax, hopefully laugh a bit, and maybe even learn a thing or two as we embark on this culinary exploration of meatless food.
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