FEEL GOOD FRIDAY: VEGAN ADVENTURE!

I will not lie — it’s been a roller coaster of emotions for the past few days! I decided to take the 30 day Vegan Challenge last Sunday and yeah! I’m still standing!!

Sunday Day 1 – Easy Peasy – no sweat. I’ve got this! 

After Friday and Saturday’s feasting, I wasn’t very hungry today. That made for an easy start. I began to plan my campaign. First breakfast —what to eat? It had to be quick, easy, and satisfying — Vegan and gluten-free. I opted for a smoothie and what better than Vega’s vanilla flavour protein powder. It’s packed with healthy ingredients and a whopping 30 gms. of protein per scoop! To dress it up and make it taste yummy I added 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk, a quarter cup water, 1 banana chopped, 1 cup mixed berries (half fresh, half frozen), 1 tsp maple syrup, half tsp cinnamon, two ice cubes and off it went into the blender. It emerged as a blue concoction (the blueberries of course!) and it tasted delicious. It was so filling I didn’t feel any hunger pangs until supper. Supper ended up being a regular favourite of mine, felafel wraps — except this time without the bread! As well as going Vegan, I’m also experimenting with gluten-free food. I wrapped them in lettuce leaves, filled them with chopped onion, peppers, cucumber and delicious vegan dressing. I gave today’s effort 10/10!

Monday Day 2 — Frustration in the kitchen!

Same delicious smoothie for b/fast. Why fix perfection? Did my power walk and later, armed with the zeal of a convert, I headed to the swanky Whole Foods Emporium. I was on a mission! I loaded my cart with all sorts of new vegan food to try, plus a few familiar favourites. I was excited to try some vegan chocolate coconut ice cream bars, cauliflower crumble snacks, (an Indian veg curry one, and a Moroccan Harissa flavour), corn tortillas (for gf), Yves Mediterranean Harissa Veggie sausages, Daiya plant-based deluxe cheezy mac, various Daiya cheeses, hummus, guacamole and felafels.

Later for supper, it was one disappointment after another! Some of those cheeses were like rubber!! OMG! Wtf have I got myself into moment! All that waste of money in that pricey emporium!! And the expression on my poor husband’s face as he heard the expletives raging in the kitchen! He thought COVID-19 was difficult enough to cope with, but now this? His wife becoming a Vegan. (He likes his meat!). I told him “Don’t worry honey, it’s only a 30 day trial!”

First I tried the cauliflower crumble curry flavoured snack. It said ready-to-go with a folding fork, so I assumed you could eat it cold, I tried that, yuck! Heated it, a little better, but still yuck! I ditched it. Next, the Daiya luxury gluten free mac and cheese. I cooked it with immense love, even added in some chopped organic broccoli for added flavour. It looked great as you can see from the photo. But alas, it tasted alien and yucky! Vile, disgusting, horrible! I hate to throw food away but into the compost this went, along with the cauliflower crumble joke! Who are they kidding?

Next…and by this time I was getting hangrier and hangrier… I tried the Yves harissa flavoured veggie sausages. I’ve done similar ones before, but usually dressed them up with buns, cheese, spices, etc. to make them palatable. This time I could not disguise the rubber duck sensation! I fried the sausages in oil, a liberal dose of tamari sauce, chopped onions and mushrooms to try and squeeze some flavour into them. No go! I offered one to Kevin — Definitely NO GO!! They still looked and tasted like rubber and almost bounced off the ground. Sorry, but no can do! They followed the cauli crumble and vegan mess and cheese into the compost. The worms weren’t loving it either!! The pile of discarded disappointments was mounting, as was my frustration. The waste of money!!! Aagh!! But I’m not a garbage can. If something doesn’t taste good, I just can’t swallow it!

FINALLY!!! Yee Haw — persistence pays! I scored 100% with the Beyond Meat Veggie burger. I’ve had them before and love them! Fried it up with a little tamari sauce, onions and mushrooms. It was finger-licking toe-tingling delicious. A keeper for my list! Sadly, the coconut cream vegan chocolate ice cream bars were another disappointment. I think maybe it wasn’t such a good idea having the Haagen Daas chocolate ice cream bars so soon before! Comparisons are odious.

Tuesday:  Day 3 — Persistence Pays!

Despite the moaning and groaning, my body was — if I’m being completely honest here — feeling a lot lighter and cleaner. No gluten, no dairy, no animals or fish. The weighing scales had dropped nearly 3 lbs. So that put me in a better frame of mind to tackle Day 3. I had been voraciously reading all the Vegan Success Stories and how lives had been changed dramatically by converting to a plant-based diet. One woman said she actually put on weight the first month because she was eating all the Vegan ‘junk food’ out there. I did not realize Vegan Cuisine can have junk food? Maybe all those rubber ducks have bizarre additives? Then something clicked. I think it is better to stick to what you know and make this transition as easy as possible. The old reliables. It has to be easy peasy for it to work — be it friendships or food!

Wednesday:  Day 4 — Old Reliables

The boy next door food. Hummus, felafels, guacamole, peanut butter on rice cakes with sliced banana, veggie burgers, veggie lasagne, veggie chilli, lentil and chickpea curry, etc. The list was endless! Why did I not think of them before rushing in to buy pricey rubber duck food? Duh! My enthusiasm and confidence soared 100%. By the end of day four, I had worked out some meal ideas and even up-graded my Vegan Rescue Cookie! It is now even more delicious since I added chopped walnuts to it. I call it my Ooh La La cookie. What a difference a day makes!! Stick with it Delisha!

Thursday:  Day 5 — Make a list

To make it last, I need a list. A list with only yummy, healthy and satisfying food allowed on it. Tried and tested — for now at least! Start small. Play safe. That’s my strategy for now. Later, I hope to get more adventurous and try a few new recipes per week. I’m really excited for the decadent desserts part! I also was thrilled to find a yummy vegan dish at the food court. It was from Thaigo, and was a vegetable stir fry with rice and tofu. Finger licking good — and I’m not easy to please!

Vegan Meal list:

Breakfast: Protein Smoothie, Oatmeal with almond milk, fruit, Ooh La La cookie.

Lunch: Felafel wrap, hummus and veggies, salad, soup.

Snacks: Rice cakes with nut butter and sliced banana and cinnamon. Guacamole with corn chips, hummus with veggies, fruit and nuts.

Dinner: Chickpea and lentil curry, veggie burgers, veggie lasagne, veggie chili, pizza on cauliflower crust, stuffed peppers — the list is endless!!

Friday:  Day 6 — I’ve got this! 

Yes, I’m still standing albeit a few pounds lighter! I’m excited to experiment with more recipes over the weekend!

Have a great weekend and be sure to do what you love and love what you do!

Hugs,

Patricia and Coco xxx