Vegan in a hurry...just don't eat the pizza!

Today was a successful day. I didn't wake up starving and there was plenty of food to eat in the house! I did have real sugar in my coffee, that will be our secret no one tell the soup nazi (aka teen nutritionist). Breakfast was the same but I really eat the same thing for breakfast every day anyway and lunch was left overs.  Challenge of the day: Cooking fast vegetarian food.  Tonight was a crazy night of kids off to work, husband off to softball and me off to meetings, no time to cook, especially two dinners.  The Carnivores cooked Shepard's Pie.  I spent the afternoon making humus in my mini food processor.  Food processors really do have a limit and 15 ounce cans of chick peas don't fit, just in case you were wondering. After using 14 dishes, I finally got the humus somewhat consistent. Next time I should probably make it half and half. I am also going to try the high speed mini blender. Since I spent the afternoon making humus, I decided to eat that for dinner with vegetables.  At my meeting there was pizza.  Lovely thick crusted cheese and pepperoni pizza....then pecan pie.  Oh pecan pie, it's not just for Thanksgiving.  I avoided the pizza and tried to not think about the pie and dreamed of chicken instead.

Vegan Humus
2 15 ounce cans of chickpeas, one drained, drain and reserve liquid of second
4 cloves of garlic peeled
2 tbs tahini
2 tbs fresh lemon juice
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp paprika
pepper and salt to taste

Place all ingredients except salt and pepper in the blender (including reserved liquid). Scrape sides of blender and blend again. Add salt and pepper to taste, additional garlic, cumin, paprika if needed.

What in the world are we going to eat?

Day 1: I am starving....Seriously I think maybe we should go to Whole Foods, well probably take out a loan first, and buy the entire store.  There is literally nothing I can eat in the house.  My lovely nutritionist, aka my cute, fit, energetic teenager, did some research and sent me to the store with a list. So I go to my local Shop Rite and spend an hour and 45 minutes looking for agave nectar, almond butter and tahini.  I ask a store clerk and literally he looks at me like I have three heads and points to the Truvia. Um, no.  Giant, was a little better but why is this vegan thing so expensive??? Is this food made in a remote jungle in South America?  How can almond butter and tahini possibly be $8 a jar????  There better be gold in that coconut milk.... I end up buying three days worth of groceries, tahini, almond butter, natural peanut butter, agave syrup, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, chik peas, black beans, a ton of produce, plus food for my two remaining carnivores (not my favorite people right now) for about $100. Many of these items were staples that you really only buy once a month, but that is still way over budget for us. Note to self.. go to the discount produce stand this weekend and see if BJ's might possibly carry any of this stuff. Word on the street is that Aldi's has discount organic food.  I wonder if eating Aldi's organic food is like eating Q'doba, not quite Taco Bell but not gourmet either.  Is the lack of meat and protein increasing my ADD?  I'm avoiding Whole Foods like the plague.  Trader Joe's is a maybe.  Amazon has great prices, but even with prime it takes two days to get it, I might starve by then or eat a really big juicy steak.....more research is needed.

If any one is interested, our meals and snacks consisted of granola and fruit for breakfast, apples with peanut butter, salad with black beans, mango salsa, guacamole, tomatoes, and for dinner whole wheat pasta and homemade vegan tomato sauce (Carnivore comment of the day "Are there carrots in the tomato sauce?"), with snacks of nuts, fruits and vegetables.

Tomato Sauce Recipe
1 800 g can of Italian tomatoes
1 stalk of celery
1 carrot
1 onion
Italian Spices (basil, oregano, thyme, parsley)
1/2 tsp agave syrup
soy sauce (this should be organic but we used what was in the house)
salt
a ton of garlic, fresh chopped and minced

Put tomatoes and veggies in a pan. Cover and cook over low heat for 45 minutes, until pulpy. If you want it to be like true sauce, you should put this mixture into a food processor.  We liked the whole vegetables and the crunch. Turn heat up and rapidly boil until it thickens.

Vegan?

I was talking with a friend the other day, and I said, "So I'm vegan now." As she choked down her burger, she said, "I'm sorry what?" The sky has not fallen, but I have gone vegan.  Before all of my conservative (and non conservative friends too) fall off their chairs, let me just say for now it's only a 30 day experiment.

So last year, I did the Daniel Fast for 40 days as part of a church wide fast. The Daniel Fast is a raw diet that allows you to only eat things from the ground (cows don't count, I asked!) and anything that is a remotely satisfying thing like coffee or chocolate.  (Hey Daniel, coffee and chocolate grows from the ground!)  But seriously, it was about replacing our focus on food or addicting things like chocolate or caffeine with a desire for God.  The first week was horrendous, friends and family will say I was a wee bit cranky.  As I got into week three, I noticed a change in my energy level, I wasn't as tired, I felt lighter.  I would like to say that the fast was amazing the whole way through but the truth is that I really struggled.  It was a very stressful time for me in my business, personal and spiritual life.  The fast was really like 56 days long (because we did it over lent) honestly by day 45 I really just wanted a big juicy steak and I didn't feel like I had any spiritual revelations or I was any closer to God through the process. The entire process was really just being obedient to God.

So why on earth would I do it again?  Well I have this teenager that is into healthy eating and she has been asking and asking and asking me to go vegan with her. And then this happened....

I picked up a book called "The Miracle Morning" about two weeks ago.  It's an amazing book that inspires you to make small changes in your life each day.  I strongly recommend it.  I have committed to 30 days.  30 days of waking up early, meditation, visualization, prayer, exercise, and working on a personal goal that you never have time for in your every day life.  Part of this process has been eating healthy.  I refuse to sabotage myself by putting junk in my body every day. But really, secretly I just want a chocolate chip cookie and a steak....so if you are interested in this journey for some crazy reason I have decided it would be a great idea to blog the daily struggle of a carnivore being vegan.