Day 6- Overcoming the cravings

Monday's cravings continued on in my dreams. It's a sad thing to admit but yes, I had a dream of enjoying a lovely cheese pizza. When I awoke on Tuesday morning I was more amused than annoyed. The whole idea of dreaming about food is very sad. Unfortunately, I am quickly becoming aware of the very intertwined relationship I have with food. I have to wonder if everyone has the same reaction to food? For me it's more than just nourishment, but an actual enjoyment. I realize that food is a very primary and primal need; and our reactions to food can be tied to a number of items: Social Needs, Personal Needs and Primal Needs. We need food to survive, the type and quantity of food is dictated by our personal desires and our societal expectations of what we can and can not eat. It leads one to really evaluate food and it's purpose in our lives.

I found a great lunch option: Alon's bakery and cafe. I have often times visit Alon's for fresh bread or great desserts but never for lunch. They have a number of great lunch options to fit any dietary need- include the restrictive needs of a vegan.

Day 5- CRAVINGS

Yes, that's right, cravings. I would have given up my first born or arm to have had either a: Chik-Fil-A Sandwich, Vortex Burger with cheese or a Three Musketeers Bar. I remained steady and maintained my direction. I was very good today minus the overwhelming need for foods that I have removed from my diet- willingly- for the next 30 days. I have had to work hard today to keep my focus, so to avoid going into full on craving mode, I am going to keep this short and sweet. Day five: Cravings.

Day 4- coffee, dressing and soup....

I started my morning with a coffee experiment. As many of my friends know, I am addicted to coffee. I love my morning coffee and with it, cream, lovely sweet, rich cream. Sadly, for the next thirty days, that is not an option. So I tried Almond Milk, Soy Milk and Rice Milk in my coffee. I think rice milk gives coffee the most similar taste to dairy creamer. Almond and Soy both offer a very strong nutty after-taste. Another difference with all three milks is the density of the liquid in the coffee. Dairy creamer creates a "blonding" of the coffee whereas "blonding" doesn't really occur with Almond, Soy or Rice- well, not in normal quantities. If you make it half coffee half milk, then you create a richer creamier affect. Using any of the above milks in coffee is definitely an acquired taste and one I will have after 30 days.

After my coffee experiment, I decided to see how well tofu would be as a salad dressing. I made a creamy balsamic dressing with relative ease (tofu, balsamic, olive oil and onion powder). The initial tasting was interesting. Imagine a smooth, light balsamic with a slightly nutty ending. I actually think I like this creamier version than some traditional balsamic dressings. I will try it this week on a variety of salads and vegetables.

For today's lunch and several future lunches (since I made enough for an army of ten vegans)I made a Kale and Mushroom soup. This was a very delicate soup. I actually expected it to have a little more punch, since kale is a very strong green. The fresh kale and mushrooms combined to create a very delicate soup. I think this soup would have been better with a little sweet potato, just to give some additional flavors and changes in texture. I have enough saved that I might add sweet potatoes just to see how it changes the flavor and possibly the soups body.

I was having some strange random cravings today. Ordinarily I would not be craving any of these foods, but since I have told myself that I can't have them, my brain is determined to torture me with cravings. I really would have given up my first born for a Three Musketeers Bar or a hot, flaky, buttery biscuit. As I type this, my mouth is watering at the thought of a hot biscuit. Perhaps with a little butter, homemade jelly!! Ahhhh, heaven. My brain is determined to continue this random onslaught of cravings, hopefully trying to find a weakness....

Day 3- Tofu,Dekalb Farmers Market, Dessert

After a series of experiments, I have decided that Tofu is the chameleon of foods. Prior to making my tofu scramble for breakfast I decided to do a little experimenting. The kitchen look like a mad scientist's laboratory had exploded!

I pulled out the Tofutti Cream Cheese (according to the package- BETTER than cream cheese (no truth in the advertising)), Worcestershire Sauce, Garlic, Onions, Green peppers, Italian Spices, Salt, Pepper, Tofurkey sausage, basil leaves and lemongrass. I used an entire block of firm tofu for this experiment. I made eight different versions of scrambled tofu and liked each one. I was fascinated at how the tofu picked up on all the flavors and became that flavor. I think Lemongrass was the most interesting flavor combined with the tofu texture. My least favorite was the tofu with Worcestershire sauce. The texture of the tofu, the strength of the sauce coupled with the extra liquid that the sauce added, created an interesting combination in the pan. I think if perhaps I had added mushrooms or something similar it would have been better.

After my morning experimenting, with tofu, I decided to make a run to the Dekalb Farmers Market. It's usually best to get to the market early, mainly to avoid the HUGE Crowds; unfortunately I was experimenting with tofu, so I got there in the early afternoon. And as luck would have it, all of Atlanta was packed into one farmers market. Regardless of the sardine like atmosphere, I still had a blast. I managed to get a decent amount of product for very little. Some great finds: Agave Nectar (MUCH sweeter and stronger than any honey I have ever had), Quinoa Flakes and Flour, Almond Milk, Tempeh and beautiful Kale. I think I may have set a record for packing the most merchandise into one small carry basket. I did not want to get an actual buggy because of the super packed space; so I opted to go shopping with a basket. One thing that annoys me about the farmers market is all the various people who get the big buggy's and then randomly walk around just "window shopping". The place is way too packed on a Saturday to do any window shopping, much less amble through the market with a full on EMPTY buggy. My beef: If you have a buggy, FILL it, and FILL it all the way. Don't be lazy and just drop one or two items in a buggy. (Stepping off the recycled cardboard soap box)

My evening experiment was making desserts without using eggs or milk. It was actually very easy. I made a plum cobbler and banana bread. I made both using Quinoa Flour, Flakes, Almond Milk, organic vanilla flavoring, brown sugar and soy butter. So both items were very tasty and healthy. Almond milk and almond paste really enhanced the flavor of the banana's and gave the bread a rich flavor. I served the bread with a scoop of Strawberry Rice-Cream (Non-Dairy Ice Cream). The Quinoa Flakes added a very slight nutty taste to the cobbler.

All in all, I would say day three is ending on a high note! So far this experiment has been fun, no major changes in how I feel physically or mentally. I will say that I feel full on less food. The consumption of soy products seems to have the same effect as Chinese Food; only without the wanting to gnaw-your-arm-off stage an hour after you have eaten. I suspect three days is way to soon to see any of the touted results of this eating style. Other than my first morning, I have not hit the holy cow I am craving cow stage.....I am sure that will come...Stay tuned for the 11 O'clock news reports.... :-)

Day 2- Dinner- Soul Vegetarian

I had dinner at this fantastic place called: Soul Vegetarian. Everything on the menu was 100% Vegan friendly. Who would have ever thought tofu could be so interesting? The menu was a Vegan's answer to southern, soul food. The menu had everything from fried tofu steaks to barbecue cauliflower to kalebone steaks. It was amazing! I was there with a couple of friends so we all order a little bit of everything. We had fried cauliflower, kalebone, kalebone roast and eggless salad.

The kalebone was the most interesting thing on the menu. It had a tofu type texture but with a strong flavoring of herbs and spices. The kalebone roast was actually juicy and looked very similar to the roast on an Arby's Roast Beef sandwich.

This place is so much more than you would expect! The atmosphere is very soul and very unassuming. You walk in expecting to find some of the best fried chicken and okra in the south. Instead you find some of the best fried cauliflower!

Day 2- Breakfast and musings....

I am very excited about the next thirty days. I have found a slew of wonderful sounding recipes that I will start trying out this weekend. While I really enjoyed my Vegan Bocca Burger last night, I realize I can not live off of that for a month.


Day Two: Thankfully I woke up this morning, NOT craving anything. I had a basic breakfast of a Nature's Own English Muffin (the only one I could find that did not have egg or honey) and a banana.


I have heard that one of the misconceptions with the Vegan or Vegetarian diet is that it is bland and boring. And I will admit, it was in the forefront of my mind. But none of the recipes I found sound boring or bland. In fact, they sound interesting and fun to make. What I am quickly discovering is that, as a culture, we have a very strange relationship with food. I discovered last night how many food commercials are run during a two hour period of television. It's no wonder we have consumed ourselves into an overweight nation.

(And for the record: the WE is not the royal WE, I am 100% including myself in the WE)

Day 1- Beginning stages of going Vegan

Well here I am, day one of my thirty day experiment. I had my "last" non-vegan meal last night: a very hot, double cheese and mushroom pizza slice from my favorite pizza place: Fellini's. For those of you living in Atlanta you know what I am talking about. They have some of the best pizza's and calazone's in the city.

I woke up all excited this morning and then realized of all the mornings, I woke up craving a Chik-Fil-A Biscuit. I mean seriously??? I usually only crave Chik-Fil-A on Sunday's, when they are closed! Alas, I settled on a cup of green tea, oatmeal and a banana to start my day. Not nearly as satisfying as a chicken biscuit but certainly much healthier.

I packed my ubber healthy lunch: a giant green salad with olives (green and black), carrots and tomatoes with a homemade balsamic vinaigrette dressing; a plum and a soy yogurt to finish off my meal. The whole meal is very colorful and healthy, but will it satisfy my cravings? We shall see....

As it turned out, my salad was fantastic and very filling. I did have a sweet craving in the early afternoon, so I had a teaspoon of peanut butter. I was doing so great, feeling good about having almost made it through my first day, and then it happened.

It was a terrible Pavlovian response: Brownies. I was having my hair cut when my hairstylist brought out fresh baked homemade brownies. It was the weakest I had been all day. I was literally speechless and salivating. I had to explain what I was doing, and how I would love to dive into those brownies, but couldn't.

I found that telling myself that I could not have certain foods resulted in me craving them. Food as with anything is driven by the brain. Hopefully, I will not have daily cravings for too long.

Day One- ended with lots of success

Stay tuned....

Grocery Shopping and Kitchen Inventory

Pre-Planning Night One:
I took an inventory of the refrigerator to see what I had on hand that I could eat. After a few minutes I discovered I could only eat: pickles, mustard, organic jelly. Great, it's a pregnant woman's dream of a sandwich.

However, my cupboards looked a little better. I did not feel like Old Mother Hubbard going to her cupboards. I have stewed tomatoes, beans, brown rice, pasta and mixed nuts.

After my kitchen inventory I decided to go to the local Publix. I thought it would be best to start with the basics. As I entered Publix, I was filled with excitement and joy. I had the same excitement as a kid going back-to-school clothes shopping. As I wondered down the aisles I suddenly realized that purchasing my basic foods was not going to be as easy as I had thought. Honey. It's in almost everything: bread, pasta, granola, snack bars, chips, cookies, crackers. Then I discovered that eggs are a sneaky ingredient.

I became the "label reader". You know the one. The person that blocks the aisle because they are reading every label and examining every ingredient for each item they place in their shopping cart. Yup, I became one of those people.

Turtle Mountain

A friend of mine gave me this tip. Turtle Mountain for Vegan friendly desserts. I checked out the site and found several stores in my area that carry the Turtle Mountain Products.

http://www.purelydecadent.com/company/aboutus.html

Omnivore to Vegan- Pre Planning

As I begin this journey I realize that I need to do a couple of things:

1. Inventory the fridge to see what items are off limits.
2. Make a shopping list.
3. Download a Vegan Starter Guide: http://www.veganoutreach.org/guide/gce.pdf