Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Vegan Day 2 & 3 - Still Sick

I should probably point out right off that I am not sick because of going vegan.  I still have a bad cold that is making it a bit hard to be trying new foods.  Okay - more than a bit hard.  I'm craving comfort foods which for me include chicken broth, mac and cheese... seriously anything with cheese. Oh cheese how I miss you already... But I have stayed true to vegan!

Hubby is loving the spiciness of the vegan recipes we've had so far.  Funny since while shopping a few days ago he was less than thrilled about it.  The kiddo and I are not as keen on the spice factor.  I'm trying to do all of the recipes presented in the app as they are presented but I'm going to need to learn more about the various spices to tame them down.  I've found so far our vegan dishes are calling for spices I don't typically use (curry, cumin).  Also lots of green onion and red peppers.

Things I love? Homemade hummus, soy yogurt and popcorn with nutritional yeast. Kiddo loves the veggie burgers (I do too but I already loved veggie burgers).  Also loved the Pho recipe recommended by a friend as a good sick food - though I ended up watering it down since the broth was a little spicy for me. http://peasandthankyou.com/2010/12/16/camptown-ladies/

I am starting to dream of vegan things off menu that I'd love to try - like marinaded and grilled portobello mushrooms and I'd like to find a vegan pizza recipe - or make one up. I'm thinking a pesto sauce with tofu and nutritional yeast in place of cheese with sliced tomatoes.  But those dreams will wait until I recover from this cold and have an appetite to (hopefully) enjoy them.

On a less than vegan note (though I believe it is still vegan) I'm wondering about hot toddy's for colds.  Watched a fav episode of Home Improvement when Jill gets drunk on a hot toddy while sick... which is pretty much how I act anyway when I'm sick :) I'd go for a slightly drunken sleep tonight just to get some sleep!

Monday, February 14, 2011

New to Blogging and New to Vegan

Here I am. A Wanna-be Hippie with a blog of my very own... Now what to do with it?

I actually have a plan - but only for the next three weeks so far. I am an iPhone free-app junkie who recently downloaded the Vegan 21 Day Kickstart.  My husband and I have been talking off and on for several years about wanting to try more vegetarian meals as a healthier option but I always found myself at a loss as to what to eat to replace that meat we knew and loved so much. So I would try a recipe and more often than not we would not like it and would not talk about going vegetarian again for months.  And until very recently I thought those vegan people were just taking it way too far! Take away my cheese and milk?? You've gotta be kidding me! My brother and his wife recently tried out the 21 Day Kickstart and have had great things to say about it. And I have a friend from high school who posts's on Facebook about her vegan eating. So here we are, ready to give it a try.

I downloaded the app last week and have been gradually getting more excited.  We even tried a recipe last week with broccoli, garbanzo beans and garlic that my hubby, our 15 month old and myself all loved!  So I was totally psyched yesterday when we did our shopping for the first few days. And I was excited to make today's lunch yesterday so hubby could brown bag it to work today. And I was REALLY excited about the strawberries and vegan mousse we found at the store - YUM!

And then I woke up this morning - sick.  My throat hurts, my nose is runny, my body aches and I'm tired. I don't feel like eating - much less new foods. As it turns out neither does the kiddo. My goal has been to follow the plan as closely as possible.  However; I've already given the kiddo yogurt and cheese crackers.  He's not a fan of couscous or carrot-roasted bell pepper soup which were on the menu for lunch. So the first adjustment to the plan is that I will be introducing my son to all the vegan foods - but he will eat his regular vegetarian diet if he doesn't like the vegan meal (he has been vegetarian his whole life).  As for me? I will stick with it, but likely not with the portions called for until I'm feeling better. The appetite always seems to go out the window with cold symptoms.