Category Archives: Vegan

Jan 16

Vegan Meals: Week 2

Making all things vegan got a little easier in week two, and then the heater broke… It was positively frigid downstairs.

Luckily I could set up a makeshift pantry in the upstairs hallway, but I was making lots of trips up and down the stairs when it was time to cook. I think I averaged at least six stories of stairs for every meal. That is the last time that I ever say “I hope to get more exercise in the new year”.

Going vegan is getting easier, and the meals have been fantastic.

Beans and Rice are my go-to meal in the fridge. I can make a big batch, and have it ready to go in a minute. I made a little salad with homemade salsa to top it off.

I also keep plain Jasmine Rice cooked and ready to go in the fridge. I add a few veggies, and make a quick lunch for me.

I’ve been using up odds and ends, and this was the last little bit of homemade Mexican Rice, a little homemade salsa, and a few veggies. It made a super tasty soup on a chilly Winter night.

I love the ready made Kale & Quinoa bites. They make an awesome dinner!

You can never go wrong with Veggie Ramen.

Crunchy Quinoa Tacos are quickly becoming one of my favorite dishes.

I’ve also been keeping cooked Quinoa in the fridge. I throw it in soups, burritos, or make a quinoa bowl with plenty of veggies.

While the heater was out, I was getting creative in the kitchen to keep a little heat downstairs. I made a big batch of baked potatoes. The oven warmed up the kitchen, and I had plenty of meals for me.

These are my very favorite “accidentally vegan” potato chips!!! I can’t get enough of them!

I’ve been giving Nutritional Yeast a try, and I have to say, I really like it! It makes a mean “cheesy” quinoa bowl.

It is also amazing on roasted potatoes with broccoli!

I’m entering week three of the Veganuary challenge, and it is going fantastically. I’m feeling pretty darn good, and I haven’t missed the dairy one little bit. I think I just might make it through the month.

 

Jan 15

Veganuary Week 2

Let’s see how week two goes…

  • Monday 1/8/2018: The kids are back to school today, and I’m celebrating by going to the dentist. Oh yeah! I know how to celebrate. I didn’t have any strange cravings, or even really thought about food at all today. My face just hurt…
  • Tuesday 1/9/2018: Today has been full of errands, and I’ve been grabbing vegan snacks and using up my prepared meals in the fridge. Maybe tomorrow, I’ll restock the fridge with rice, quinoa, and pasta.
  • Wednesday 1/10/2018: Dylan has soccer practice late this evening, so I got dinner started this morning for the family in the Crock Pot. I forgot to make bread though, but I had a half of a loaf of homemade vegan bread in the fridge, so I decided to serve it to the family. Their replies were pretty hilarious…

Dylan: ” I loved it!”

James: “I like the other one better.”

Thade: “Meh, it’s o.k.”

Agnes: ” I give it a pretty good.”

  • Thursday 1/11/2018: And I’m back at the grocery store, again. The cold weather is heading our way, and I’m getting the house stocked up. After getting everything put away, the text came in that school was going to be out at 12:30 p.m. I wonder if Agnes’ soccer practice is going to be cancelled too… Either way I’m making Tacos for the family, and something vegan for me.
  • Friday 1/12/2018: Today has been frustrating. Last week the heater was fixed, and then late last night the new part that was fixed, completely blew apart. It is a long story, and it is a frustrating one. The good part of the day, I made it to day twelve completely vegan. Not too shabby,
  • Saturday 1/13/2018: The heater is out, so the meals are getting a little creative. It is pretty cold downstairs (37 F) so I make a short trip when I can. I’ve stuck with the vegan meals, and I stocked the upstairs with plenty of bananas for snacking.
  • Sunday 1/14/2017: Two weeks in, and I have been completely vegan. This is the longest time that I have been successful, and I’m pretty darn excited about it. I’m looking forward to next week, and I hope to have success throughout January.

 

 

Jan 8

Veganuary: Week 1

I thought it would be fun to share my day-to-day participating in Veganuary. I hope to be successful throughout the entire month, and learn a few new skills along the way too.

  • Monday 1/1/2018: I have to cook a lot!!! Right now the hot water has frozen, it was -18 F when we woke up today, and I am swimming in dirty dishes. Between Christmas cooking, and the kids home and eating twenty-four hours a day, my kitchen is a wreck. I was making lunch for the family (Steak soft Tacos), and that’s when I remembered, oh yeah, I have to cook for me too. I made a big batch of homemade salsa, and vegan Mexican Rice and that way I’ve got leftovers ready to go in the fridge.
  • Tuesday 1/2/2018: Yep, I’m hungry… It’s freezing, and I’ve got to get to the store. I also have to take two of my kiddos with me, and through the entire store, they point out everything that I can’t eat… But Avocados were on sale for 5/$5 so Avocados for the win!
  • Wednesday 1/3/2018: It’s cold, the hot water still hasn’t unfrozen, I’m swimming in dishes, and I’m hungry and grumpy. Also, I don’t feel like cooking today.
  • Thursday 1/4/2018: On the hunt for Vegan snacks. Dylan and I headed out of the house today, and we were on the look-out for vegan sweets, we read through just about every label in the store and I found a few Dark Chocolate bars that fit the bill. I also grabbed Oreo Cookies and Biscoff Cookies for the kids (both just happen to be vegan).
  • Friday 1/5/2018: I started dreaming about food again… This happens a lot to me, I’m snoozing along, dreaming of deep-dish cheese pizza, and I wake up before I can get a bite of it. So today I got rid of my favorite ice cream hanging out in the freezer, and threw away a few more non-vegan items that were hiding out too. I’m still going strong on the vegan challenge, and feeling pretty good too.
  • Saturday 1/6/2018: Woke up, made oatmeal, and my fridge is stocked so I don’t have to worry about what to make for lunch or dinner. The days are getting easier, and I’m feeling so much better. I’ve even got the family curious about what I’m eating, and wanting to try out some of the foods too. They aren’t on board yet, but they are curious.
  • Sunday 1/7/2018: Today, I wasn’t hungry like I was at the beginning of the week. I also wasn’t trying to figure out what to make for every meal. Over the weekend, it all clicked together, and it wasn’t too tough anymore. I’m looking forward to next week, and I’m feeling so much better already.

 

Jan 3

December’s Veggie Meals

Let me start off by saying that December wasn’t one of my better months…

Basically, I ate everything that came through the door, and after Christmas, I felt like complete crap.

So I started weaning myself off the junk, and worked my way towards veganism.

Veggie Pasta with Capers and Tomatoes

Vegan Ramen with plenty of veggies

Vegan Snack dinner with Pita Chips and Homemade Hummus

I’m already starting to feel a bit better, and my stomach is my friend once more.

Dec 30

Prepping for Veganuary

I’ve been reading about the Veganuary challenge on twitter, and instagram, and after my crappy December, I think this will get me back in line. It’s pretty simple, you pledge to be a vegan for the entire month of January, and that’s that.

Now I’ve tried to go vegan before, and I only made it a week, so I’m seriously hoping that I can make it through the month. I was thinking back on why I wasn’t successful on the first go, and it came down to a few things:

  • I was HUNGRY all the flipping time
  • I hadn’t meal planned for my meals, and then I lost motivation to cook (um Breakfast)
  • I’m lazy, and I have too many dirty dishes in my life
  • I hadn’t stockpiled the kitchen at all
  • I give into my cravings way too easliy (i.e. all things CHEESE)

So this week, I’m working on all of those problem areas.

Let’s start with menu planning. I plan lunch and dinner for the family monthly. I quickly realized that I didn’t plan for my meals too. I would just use whatever I had on hand, and that becomes a problem. While I was menu planning, I paid careful attention to what sides I could veganize, and carry-over for my meals. I’m going to try and sneak in more fresh foods for myself, and maybe introduce the family to vegan dishes too.

Stocking the house:

First I took stock of everything that I already had in the house that was vegan. I cleared off a shelf in the kitchen, and made it my vegan shelf. I was surprised by what I already had hanging out in the kitchen. I made a list of what I needed for about the first week (or so) and Agnes and I headed out to shop.

We went to three stores, and I looked for vegan items everywhere. I scanned all of the labels, and picked up a bunch of stuff to have on hand.

You’ll notice a lot of snacks… I’m a bad snacker, or more of a grazer. I love snack foods way too much, and I think this is going to be where I struggle the most.

I took it to twitter and instagram.

I tweeted about me wanting to join the Veganuary movement, and bam! Ideas, motivation, and even shopping advice popped up. I post my meals on instagram as often as I can, and then here comes more motivation, and helpful tips, and friendly advice from vegans all across the globe.  It’s cool to have a community to reach out to, and get some very helpful advice. I also love looking at all of the amazing vegan dishes that other happy vegans are enjoying.

I started weaning myself off a few days in advance. Like the 28th to be exact.

One of the mistakes that I made the first time was I was a vegetarian trying to go vegan, and I did it cold-tofurkey. This time I’m starting off a little at a time. I’m still finishing off the amazing dairy-filled yogurt that is in my fridge, but then I’m eating vegan meals for lunch and dinner. This has been much easier, and I haven’t had all of those crazy cravings (so far).

So what am I hoping to get out of this?

To get rid of these…

That’s right. I am horribly allergic to all things that involve DAIRY! I have to take two to four of these beauties every time I eat anything that is dairy, and I know that isn’t good for me. I mean I’m already allergic to it, why should I be eating it?!? I’m also allergic to eggs, cloves, and nutmeg.

Also I’m exhausted all of the time. December it became really bad, maybe it was just stress, but I think all of the awful things that I was eating didn’t help matters at all. I’m hoping that I’ll have a bit more energy, and feel better too.

I’m hoping to learn to eat better, cook new foods, and even get my family to try a few of them. I know that they could benefit from some more fruits and veggies too.

So wish me luck, or if you are feeling full of veggies, jump on in and take the challenge too. Happy Veganuary everyone! Cheers! (with carrots and celery)