eating vegan

i thought i would give a little update on our change to a vegan diet.  it really has been much, much simpler than we had thought.  i am still learning and trying recipes so we haven't really seen that much of a expense difference and am maybe spending slightly more.  i hope to get that under control soon.  i cooked meat for the first time in about a month to make dinner for a mops mom who just had a baby and it really emphasized how nice it has been not to have to worry about raw meat.  i can lick my fingers when i cook vegan and i don't stress about contamination during clean up.  i also don't worry about undercooking things (i had this problem because i like to force meat to cook from frozen too often).

the kids have had no problem with it.  i have actually been surprised.  we do let them eat whatever they want when we go to restaurants but matt and i try to eat vegan if possible.  when we go to parties or other gatherings with food we just eat what is served but just less.  i will say that i don't feel well after eating meat or dairy now.  not that it stops me from eating pizza when we get it (which we do from time to time because it is easy on days when i don't have any energy to give to making a meal - again) but i don't eat nearly as much and there isn't very much enjoyment in leftovers the next day which used to be my favorite.  another big difference for me is that my weight might change 10-13 pounds each month but that has not happened the past two months. i am actually down over 10 pounds and staying there.

we still eat lots of cookies, brownies, etc.  "vegan" does not equal "healthy" by default.  we do try to make healthy options though, just like before.

matt has switched out his daily yogurt with a smoothie.  this was his last hold out with dairy.  everyday is a little different but it generally has kale, fruit, dates, almonds, oats, chia seeds, and almond milk or oj.  we try to lean smoothies towards veggies more than fruit because then there is less sugar and they taste remarkably good!  i would much rather 'eat' kale in a smoothie than cooked.

the only objection madelyn has had was when i tried to make a tofu scramble instead of scrambled eggs one morning.  she said, "mom, i think you need to go back to your other recipe for eggs."  this is still cracking me up!  she is so used to me trying recipes that she indicates that she liked an 'old' one better and that she thought i had a recipe for scrambled eggs.  they really weren't bad and would be really good with some veggies in them or used in a breakfast burrito or something.

in general, madelyn loves eating vegan.  she has become very interested in what ingredients go into each meal and which parts have the most 'vitamins'.  we talked a lot about healthy options before but it seems to really be sinking in.  mason could live solely on veggies and hot sauce.  if it is a plant and/or spicy, he is generally a fan. tonight i made zucchini chips that are a little spicy (they were breaded and baked).  mason loved them so much that he was dipping raw zucchini slices in the left over breading and eating it.  the breading had cayenne pepper in it and was pretty spicy.

we are all enjoying this culinary adventure.  i am looking forward to matt's next physical to see what the health benefits have been (because who knows when i will get myself an appointment).  love.