My Reasons For Not Staying Vegan

My family loves all the wonderful food I make for them, and so do I.

Breakfasts I like to make and indulge in. 

Poached Eggs on Sauteed Spinach, Mushrooms, and Tomatoes

Bagel with Cream Cheese and Smoked Salmon

Breakfast of Champions (in our house)

Caprese Egg Sandwich

I love to bake. It's as much a passion for me as cooking. Desserts I love to eat.

Easter Themed Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Red Velvet Halloween Themed Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Frosting

More Red Velvet Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Frosting
(family favorite)

Pumpkin Spice Scones

Vanilla Bean Scones

Cookies and Cream Ice Cream Cake

Frozen Mudslide
(Yes it's a cocktail but good enough to be called dessert)

All the other wonderful food I love to make for my family. I don't know why I ever thought I could pull off being a vegan when I love food so much. But I did try. 

Clam Cakes and Chowder

Corn Chowder

Chili with all the trimmings

Here's even more....

Homemade Baked Beans

Nachos Supreme

White Pizza (with a 7&7)

Homemade Meat Sauce

Baked Haddock with Crabmeat Stuffing

Caprese Panini

Chicken Cutlets with Mushroom Gravy

Asian Style Scallops and Noodles

Pan Fried Steaks with Steak Sauce

Veal Cutlets with Brown Gravy

So as you can see I like to cook and bake....a lot. But I'm still glad I tried this vegan thing. I have discovered even more food I like and will actually continue to eat. I will try to eat vegan a couple of days a week to stay a little healthier and to be a little kinder to our planet.

Day Ten -The End

The first half of my day was a good day, but by dinnertime I found myself no longer caring about this challenge of being a vegan for 6 weeks. So I am no longer a vegan. I ate some fried chicken at dinner. I couldn't do it, I don't want to do it, and many props to all those who chose to do it and stick to it. I just want a cheeseburger. Oh well, it was a good experiment, plus I discovered many vegan foods I do like. So I will probably be a part-time vegan. That way I can avoid over consuming animal fat. I actually forgot how much I love tofu. I will definitely replace a couple or few meals a week with it. That's it for this blog, short lived. But a good experience to remember....for me. ;)

Day Nine

Today was another crazy day around here. More snow! Like we haven't had enough already. But we got through the day and we also got plenty of exercise in by shoveling.  For breakfast I had a Thomas bagel with some vegan butter and a side of coffee. Yum!

Because of all the snow and all the shoveling I was very happy I had leftovers in the refrigerator for lunch. This is the Kung Pow! Tofu I made a couple of days ago. It actually tasted better leftover. The spiciness calmed down a bit. It was good.

By the time dinner rolled around I didn't care what I ate, I just wanted something fast and easy. I heated up the Amy's vegan macaroni and cheese. I'm always craving mac and cheese and the last vegan one I tried failed to the point of getting tossed in the trash. This one wasn't as horrible. But I still was unable to finish the whole serving. After awhile it started to taste a little stranger to me. But in the beginning it was fine. Weird. I think I enjoyed it steaming hot, but once it started cooling down, not so much.



I snacked on some wasabi peas (an addiction of mine) during the day as well. I also had a small scoop of the coconut milk chocolate ice cream that I love so much now. And that's it for my day. I think this would all be so much easier to deal with if all the snow around here would go away. That I'm tired of, the vegan diet I can handle still.......for now. ;)

Day Eight

For breakfast today I had some maple brown sugar cinnamon apple oatmeal with a side of coffee. It was another crazy day today. One of our toilets in our house broke and since we only have two with four people this is definitely an inconvenience. We also are expecting another big snow storm, so we ran quite a few errands today to try and take care of business. I ended up having a Falafel wrap for lunch today.

For dinner I just wanted a drink, desperately, lol. I made some homemade guacamole and snacked on some chips. Meanwhile the hubby is in the basement trying to replace a broken toilet.....I think I may need at least one more drink. ;) Until tomorrow....

Day Seven

No pictures again today. It's been a very busy day of running errands and doing some housework. I had my favorite banana peanut butter toast this morning with a cup of coffee. I ended up just eating a handful of cashews in the afternoon while I made the family's dinner (corned beef with all the trimmings). When I was done making their dinner, I cleaned up that mess and made my dinner. I found a recipe in a vegan cookbook that I own for Kung Pow! Tofu. I liked it but it was a little too spicy for my taste. If I make it again I may eliminate the red pepper flakes all together. I also used maple syrup, real maple syrup, in place of the hickory syrup since I was unable to find hickory syrup locally. I made some Trader Joe's vegetable fried rice to have with it. That ended up being my lunch and dinner today since I was so busy. I still had to clean up all the mess from my dinner. On top of that the guys in the house asked me to make them a chocolate cake, which I did. The smell of it baking drove me nuts! But I was good and didn't cave in and eat any. Thankfully I had bought Trader Joe's chocolate coconut milk ice cream and I snacked on a little of that. It was delicious! I will definitely buy that again, whether I end up staying a vegan or not. So I survived another day of eating vegan and this brings an end to my first complete week. Yay me! Only five more weeks to go.....

Day Six

For breakfast today I tried the Amy's tofu scramble and I liked it, I really liked it. I will definitely get it again. It's not listed as "vegan" because it's made in a factory with dairy and other products, but if you read the ingredients list it is vegan. I don't have allergies and I'm not an extremest with trying vegan, so I will eat it with no problem.

For a late lunch early dinner I tried the Amy's vegan Margherita pizza and I also enjoyed that very much. As a matter of fact so did my son. I think it's funny how much of my vegan food he's been enjoying with me. He's fourteen years old and usually a little picky, but not lately. I will definitely buy this one again.







For a mid morning morning snack I had a few saltines with some organic almond butter I bought to try. I liked it. It was a little loose and runny, but I put it in the refrigerator and I'll see how it is the next time I go to have some. In the evening I snacked on a few tortilla chips with a couple of cocktails. Don't worry my cocktails were vegan too. Until romorrow....

Day Five

No pictures today. It's been a long day! I had cinnamon apple oatmeal for breakfast, then mid morning I made two pieces of toast with avocado. For lunch I had the Japanese fried rice with tofu again, and yes I shared it with the kids again. For dinner I gave the Trader Joe's vegetable pad Thai a try, and I didn't care for it. It was too spicy, and I like spicy. I snacked on a few saltines in the afternoon. I'm feeling low energy and I'm just thinking it's probably withdrawals from my normal way of eating. Time will tell I guess. There is a part of me that is already regretting this decision to try vegan, but I will stick with the plan for now.

Day Four

I started my day off with my banana peanut butter toast. I only did one slice this time because last time I made two slices it kept me full for way too long. It really is yummy. Coffee on the side as usual.

So this is the Earth Balance White Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese, with a side of Lightlife Smart Dogs. The macaroni and cheese was absolutely horrible to me. The hot dog wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either. Both ended up in the trash. I will never buy the macaroni and cheese again. I have a whole package of hot dogs left. I may give them one more chance since I have so many left. Next time I will try them on a bun with condiments. Maybe that will help. I doubt I will purchase them again as well.






This is Amy's Pad Thai that I found in the freezer section of Walmart. I'm so happy that I bought it to try. After going through all the trouble of making that horrible macaroni and cheese I was starving. So I heated this baby up and it was good. I will definitely buy this again, especially for the ease of just heating and eating.




It's dinnertime right now, but I'm not even hungry. I made the guys in the house ham steak with oven roasted potatoes. I ended up snacking on a few potatoes. I was going to have my "salsa" salad that I had the other night because I have four avocados ripe for the eating. But hopefully they'll make it until tomorrow. I think I may just have a cup a tea tonight. It's been an off kind of day and I'm just tired. I hope it's not the diet, but I'm pretty sure it's not. It's just life, lol.  Until tomorrow, good night!

Note: I skipped the tea and had an apple with peanut butter.

Day Three

Today is my third day of eating vegan. This morning I had vegan toast with vegan butter (Earth Balance), my leftover yogurt from last night with fresh blueberries and more cacao nibs. I only ate half the yogurt cup last night because it's filling and has too much sugar for my liking. I also enjoyed two cups of coffee this morning. I'm loving that soy creamer, what a life saver.









For lunch I made the Trader Joe's Japanese fried rice and I heated up the Trader Joe's organic baked teryaki tofu with some extra teryaki sauce. I diced up all the tofu and combined it with the fried rice and it was a very delicious lunch. So much so that both my kids ate it, now I have no leftovers. But that's okay I was smart and bought two bags of the fried rice and I only used one square of the tofu, so I can make another batch tomorrow! I drank water with this lovely lunch.

I got a little hungry this afternoon, so I cut up an apple and had a little peanut butter with it. It definitely hit the spot.

For dinner I ate light because I was busy and didn't want to eat anything too heavy. I just had a green salad with beets and french dressing. I drank more water with my dinner. I plan on having a cup of tea with a couple of Trader Joe's speculoos cookies (YES! They're vegan! Yay!) in a little bit as well. Day three of eating vegan went very well. Looking forward to tomorrow! :D

Day Two

Today is day two and I'm doing good and feeling great. I had some vegan toast with peanut butter and sliced bananas for breakfast. With a side of coffee of course, and the coffee was better today because my wonderful daughter brought me home some soy creamer.

For lunch I had some green salad with avocado, tomato, roasted garlic and quinoa patty with salsa. I drank water with it. I ate lunch late because breakfast kept my filled up for a very long time.

I made my family a nice chicken dinner tonight and I wasn't even tempted to eat it because I was still filled up from my late lunch. So for dinner I had some soy yogurt with fresh berries and some cacao nibs. I tried the cacao nibs on their own and they tasted horrible to me. But they claim to be a "super food" so I still put some in my yogurt/berry mixture....and I liked it! I actually liked the cacao nibs in it. So that made me happy. I consider today to be another successful day of eating vegan. I'm still feeling positive about it and I'm still Gung-ho, so that's a good thing. On to tomorrow......

Dinnertime!

My first day of eating vegan is coming to an end and I feel good about it. Not that it's coming to an end, but that I ate all the right foods. I made a huge salad today that should last me the week. I made the family some yogurt parfaits and it didn't even bother me that I won't be able to have them anytime soon. Well, I can if I use soy yogurt, so I'm not missing anything. For dinner tonight I heated up one of the Boca chicken patties, cut it up, and put it on top of a delicious green salad with beets. I topped it all off with french dressing. It was delicious. I realize that I'm lucky that I already like a lot of healthy foods. I know there are many people who want to go healthy but don't because they absolutely despise vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and grains. So I count my blessings that my day one has been successful, that I haven't missed anything yet, and that I actually enjoyed all my food today. But then again, it is only day one, lol. Time will tell. I will keep a positive outlook and make the best of it. I'm looking forward to day two tomorrow.

Oven Baked Falafel Recipe (Just in case you're interested)

Oven Baked Falafel

Healthy Falafel Recipe

This recipe I found online, made it, and loved it. Hope you enjoy it too!

Note: I omitted the cilantro, because I do not care for the flavor.


Ingredients – Falafel Pockets

* Whole-wheat or high-fiber pitas
* One 15-oz. can chickpeas, well drained
* 1 onion, very finely chopped (I used red onion because I like the color/flavor better)
* 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
* 3 tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley
* 1 1/2 tbsp. chopped garlic
* 1 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
* 1/2 tbsp. ground cumin
* 3/4 tsp. salt
* 1/2 tsp. baking powder
* 1/4 tsp. lemon juice
* 1/8 tsp. paprika, or more to taste
* black pepper, to taste
* Two 2-second sprays olive oil nonstick spray
* Baby spinach
* Diced tomatoes

Ingredients – Sauce

Note: I found that you can create a great sauce from pre-made hummus – super simple, low calorie and tasted great! I only have 2 ingredients for the sauce: 1) Pre-made hummus – I LOVE Trader Joe’s hummus dip and 2) water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place all ingredients for falafel (except for the pitas, baking powder, and nonstick spray) in a food processor, and give them a good chop. Transfer into a bowl, add the baking powder and stir together. Using a potato masher, mash any big chunks that remain – Mixture should remain slightly chunky, not smooth.
3. Spray a baking sheet thoroughly with a 2-second spray of olive oil nonstick spray.
4. One at a time, take spoonfuls of mixture in your hands and form 15 balls, each about the size of a ping pong ball, and gently place them on the baking sheet. Spray the top of each ball with olive oil nonstick spray, for a total of about a 2-second spray.
5. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, combine 2 parts hummus to 1 part water, and stir until blended (add more water to taste depending on how watery you like your sauce). Season to taste with salt / black pepper and refrigerate until ready to serve.
6. Remove baking sheet from the oven, and carefully turn each ball over, gently reshaping if the bottoms have flattened. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 10 – 15 minutes, until golden brown and slightly crispy. Allow to cool and set for at least 5 minutes.
7. Cut the whole pitas into halves, toast or warm all pita halves slightly, fill with spinach, 3 falafel balls, diced tomato, and top with spinach and sauce. Enjoy!

Lunchtime!

So for lunch I decided to try the falafel wrap I bought from Trader Joe's yesterday. I love falafel and this wasn't bad at all. I do make a homemade oven baked falafel myself that I absolutely love. I'll probably plan on making it for next week. Especially since I only got to eat half the wrap because my son decided he likes falafel now. He also discovered he like soy ice cream. I bought cherry chocolate chip soy ice cream and he tried it, and he liked it. I asked him if he is planning on becoming a vegan too. He said "no, but I do want to eat healthier". Good for him! Just don't eat all my food on me, lol. I also had a quarter cup of unsalted cashews today. I've been drinking plenty of water as well. So far, so good. See you at dinner time!

And So It Begins....

Steel cut oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon, and an apple.
Plus a side of coffee with vanilla sugar & almond milk.

Today is day one of my new vegan lifestyle. Let's be clear that I am doing this as a test to see how I feel after six weeks. Whether I make this a permanent lifestyle change is yet to be seen. I did enjoy my breakfast this morning. Thankfully I already liked oatmeal so that took no adjustment. On the other hand I did not enjoy my coffee as much. I like rich flavored creamer and the only thing I had on hand was almond milk. I did not enjoy my coffee. But my daughter informed me that her store (Trader Joe's) sells soy creamer. So I need to buy some as soon as possible and give it a try. Until then, I may stick to tea. I like all my teas natural, no cream and no sweeteners. That's it for now. See you at lunchtime!