Oh boy, these are GOOD!

When I lived in Belgium, the real treat for riding the train to work in the morning (besides not having to fight the traffic) was the fresh pastries sold in the Ottignies train station. Honestly, I cannot say how many times I almost missed the train because I was waiting for the pastry counter to open! My favorite was a pan au chocolat (chocolate bread) that was kind of like a heavy croissant with chocolate filling. You could get them either plain or dusted with powdered sugar. Of course, they were made with butter.

Last night I had a real flashback and decided I could make a reasonable facsimile at home. I was right! I made a sweet white bread dough in the machine, then rolled it out, spread some blue agave on it, dusted it with a mixture of sugar and cocoa, and then put a few (just a few) chocolate chips for good measure. Then I folded it over itself and baked it in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes. I lined my baking sheet with parchment so it wouldn't stick. Once it came out of the oven, I dusted it (heavier than I meant to) with some powdered sugar. Voila! I'm sure my memory has faded but these were really delicious!

New Favorite Breakfast

My friend Courtney recently introduced me to quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah). It's not a grain like rice but a seed that is considered a superfood. I've been cooking it with one part quinoa to 2 parts liquid (water and/or soymilk). It takes about 12-15 minutes to cook to the consistency of oatmeal. Then I mix in about 1/2 cup of unsweetened berries (I use the triple berry mix with blueberries, blackberries and raspberries) and drizzle it with blue agave. It's got a really nutty flavor and it smells delicious while it's cooking. I have learned that it's available in several varieties. I might try the red quinoa next time. Here's the link where I figured out how to cook it for breakfast. Most people substitute it for rice and eat it with beans, stir fry, etc. It's a complete protein (11 grams for a half cup serving) so good for those of us who no longer eat more traditional sources of protein. I'm finding a mixed bag on the fat content. Fitday says 8% of the calories come from fat. I've seen as high as 15% in other places. Maybe they are including other ingredients in the nutritional count.

Anyway, it's great for a change and I find myself looking forward to having a steaming hot bowl mixed with berries. Sometimes I even throw in a few pieces of walnuts. :)

Long Time

Wow! I can't believe it's been 10 days since I have posted! There was lots of cooking done around here - and not all of it was vegan - but we were good and stuck with our new lifestyle. We cooked a 10 pound pork shoulder last Friday night - all night - and also smoked a turkey breast. We served it to 24 people on saturday. It really wasn't an issue NOT eating the pork in particular. I actually had problems pulling the pork once it was done. I have always loved barbecue so much and it just wasn't appetizing at all. I guess that's a good thing. I was pretty neutral toward the turkey. It didn't bother me so much. Anyway, John and I had potato salad made with no-fat soy spread and baked beans, coleslaw, homemade taco bread, and a nice fruit salad with a sauce made of silken tofu, powdered sugar and soy milk. We had plenty to eat and it was't a problem to leave the other stuff alone. I was glad that Brad and Chrissy cleaned up everything and - most importantly - took that evil banana pudding home with them. Banana pudding was the beginning of the end for me when I lost weight before. Seems like I fell in headfirst and never came out until this August.

We both maintained our weight during Christmas and the total now is 35 pounds for me and 20 for John.

We eat too many sweets . . .

but it's Christmas and we can do better later. I remember last year I made some awesome cinnamon rolls for breakfast while all the company was here. Those things were big as cat heads and they were delicious! Best I remember, there was a whole stick of butter in the dough and then I melted a whole stick and brushed the dough before I added the cinnamon, brown sugar and raisins. None of that this year. Butter is banned from the Clark household now. I need a reasonable facsimile of that old favorite comfort food.

Here it is. I used my white bread recipe and added just a little more sugar (1/4 cup). I made the dough in the bread machine and then turned it out on parchment paper with just a little more flour to work on it. I brushed the dough with some blue agave, sprinkled some brown Splenda and cinnamon and added some raisins. Then I rolled it up and sliced it into about 1 inch slices. I made dough for a 1 pound loaf and got 12 rolls. They are much smaller than cat heads - but they are absolutely fat-free! Now I'm not saying that there is alot of nutritional value there - the raisins are a good source of iron and potassium - but for comfort food during the holidays, they are awesome! When company comes, I'll be ready - with a double batch!

More results

We have both given blood recently. The cholesterol continues to drop - though not as dramatically as before. John's has now dropped from 203 to 149 to 137. Mine started at 189, dropped to 168 and now to 164. At least it's going in the right direction!

Morgan has been with us this weekend. She is a real trooper and is actually enjoying our vegan food. I made spinach calzones last night, scrambled tofu this morning and tacos for dinner tonight. John made an awesome chocolate cake Friday and we are still working on that.

I need to do a practice run on some cinnamon rolls. Last year I did a big batch for our company and they were a huge hit. This year I'm hoping to make some that we can enjoy too. I'll let you know how they come out.

Before and After

We made pictures of each other in our Broadway Christmas clothes last year and this year. Do you think the lifestyle change has made any difference in our appearances? John is down 20 pounds and Vicki is down 34.

Christmas Pageant Time

Well, today and tomorrow could potentially be challenges on the diet front. We have 2 performances each day and a meal is provided between the performances. We know that today they are serving hamburgers and hotdogs and Mindy's birthday cake. I think we will go to Subway and get a couple of their veggie sandwiches on Italian bread. We learned that those make pretty good road food on our Thanksgiving trip.

On another note, today I am buying a Cuisinart bread machine. Can't wait to be able to make a bigger loaf!

Calzones!

I've been thinking about using the pizza dough recipe to make calzones for awhile now. I probably got that idea from Mark. Anyway, I'm using the manual setting of the bread machine to make my pizza crust these days and it's really been very good. Last night I split the dough in half and made 2 smaller circles, spread each with some fat-free pasta sauce, some LightLife pepperoni, green and red peppers, thinly sliced roma tomatoes, and some fresh spinach cooked down with garlic and then mixed with some silken tofu. I placed them on my hot stone and baked them at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes. Once they were golden brown in the oven, I served them up with some additional sauce. Wow! This was very tasty! I will definitely do these again. They are a little more trouble - but well worth it.

Potato Soup

One of John's favorite meals is potato soup. I've always made it with lots of cream, butter and cheese and topped with bacon - yeah, right. Not anymore! But today I put together a pretty mean pot of potato soup. Since I didn't measure anything - and anyone reading this post would need to make it in different quantities, here's what I did. It's really not too precise.

I washed some potatoes and diced them to bitesized pieces - leaving the skins on for the additional fiber and nutrients and texture. I covered them with water and put them on to boil - just like I was going to make mashed potatoes. While they started to cook, I sliced an onion in thin slices and "sauteed" it along with a clove of garlic in a non-stick skillet until they were kind of transparent and beginning to brown a little. Then I dumped all of that into the potatoes and let them cook until the potatoes were really tender. Once they were beginning to get a little mushy, I added some soy milk and salt and pepper. Then I thickened it with some corn starch and water mixed up. I just added that until the consistency was right and then added some parsley flakes. That was it. Pretty easy. I had to taste test to get it seasoned right - but it really turned out great.

On another note, I gave blood today. I'll be anxious to see my latest cholesterol numbers!

Our First Vegan Thanksgiving

What a great holiday! We had such a good time at the beach. Seems like we ate like a bunch of hogs but I came home one pound lighter! That's a total of 30 pounds gone for me. Altogether, among the vegan group (Me, John, Jack and Pam) at the condo, we were 100 pounds lighter and who even knows how many points of cholesterol lighter!

We cooked a traditional Thanksgiving meal (turkey for Mom and Dad). We had cornbread dressing, green beans, cranberry sauce, homemade bread and chocolate pudding cake for dessert. Yummy! The best part was the walk on the beach afterward.

We made pizza a couple of times and some scrambled tofu for breakfast on Friday. Add to that a couple of batches of craving-cure cookies and a trip to Lamberts for the non-vegans and we ate like kings!

I am so encouraged that this continues to be easy to follow and the results are so dramatic. My choir dress will fit SO much better this year and John is sure to look much better in his tux.

We're Here!

Oh wow, we got here yesterday and the temperature was 80 degrees! Sunshine and a light breeze. Last night, we got some really hard rain and lots of wind but today the sun is shining again. It's still breezy but we were able to take a walk on the beach and get our feet wet.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tomorrow we begin our Thanksgiving journey over the river and - oh, wait, we are actually heading to Gulf Shores for the week! We'll go to Corinth tomorrow evening to pick up my folks and then we'll head out early Monday morning for the drive to Gulf Shores. John's brother Jack and his wife Pam are meeting us there and we plan to spend some time cooking together and sharing recipes and ideas. We have been looking forward to this for quite some time and I am desperately in need of some R&R.

We'll cook a pretty traditional Thanksgiving dinner next Thursday. I'm planning on making some dressing, some mashed potatoes, probably cooking some green beans, making some homemade rolls and some cranberry sauce. Maybe I'll make an apple pie or a pumpkin pie for dessert. At any rate, Mom and Dad can get a rotisserie chicken if they like but I'm sure Jack, Pam, John and I will enjoy our first vegan Thanksgiving. As Jack said, we will spare the life of a turkey this year - but those wild tofus better watch out!

Happy Thanksgiving to all. May you remember God's love and provision as you celebrate His bounty.

See you next week!

Lentil Soup

I've always heard of lentil soup but never eaten any and certainly never made any until today. It was easy to do: I just used a pound of lentils and covered them with water and heated them until they were boiling hard, then drained and washed them and put them back in the pot with a can of diced tomatoes, some chopped onion, garlic powder, and some veggie stock and water. I let them cook for about 30-40 minutes then added some diced carrots and frozen spinach. It simmered for about another 30-40 minutes til everything was tender. It was quite good - a nice hearty soup for a cold day.

Three Months

It's been 3 months today since we began this journey. I can honestly say that I don't miss meat - or dairy (except for cheese), eggs only a little bit, and oils, not at all - in fact, sometimes the thought of it makes me a little queasy. We are healthier, lighter, more energetic, and never hungry. We are finding it fun to be creative in the kitchen and, in fact, John has discovered that he enjoys baking! Today he found a recipe for molasses cookies and he made a batch. As you can see, they are beautiful and delicious to boot. Now, we just need to practice some restraint!

Bread Success

I finally did it! I got a loaf of bread that filled up the pan, is light and fluffy and delicious! The recipe is here. I finally got so disgusted with the little hockey puck loaves that I decided to proof my yeast before I started the machine. Well, there was definitely nothing wrong with the yeast! I dumped everything in the machine and then added the yeast in the water. Voila! A beautiful loaf of bread. I feel vindicated. Next time I'll take a picture.

Taco Bread and Chili

Shirley loaned me her bread machine so I could play with it so I've been making bread right and left - trying different recipes and types of breads. Unfortunately, there's something that I'm not doing just right because the loaves are only about half the height of the baking tub. I keep switching things around and making adjustments but they all turn out within a half inch of each other in height.

It's so cold today that chili sounded like just the ticket so I put on a big pot to cook. While it was simmering, I made some taco bread. It was a short little loaf - just like the rest - but boy oh boy was it ever delicious! It really complemented the flavor of the chili. I've really got to figure out what I'm doing wrong with this machine. I'm off to Kroger to buy some different flour. Maybe that's it.

He Bakes!

My wonderful husband baked cookies today! He admitted that this is the first time that he's done that unless you count slice and bake cookies in a tube. Wow. He can't do this very often. These things are AWESOME!!!!! He has been spending time surfing the web looking for trouble - er uh, I mean, recipes. :) Today he found this recipe for Craving-Cure cookies. He did a great job (He said he added a little extra applesauce because the dough was too dry). They are soooo good. I'm glad he put them away to keep me out of them. He used vegan chocolate chips (non-dairy) and raisins. Yum Yum!

Spaghetti Squash Stir-Fry

I had a spaghetti squash that needed to be used - and tonight is grocery night and we are out of alot of stuff so it was time to be creative. I cooked the squash in the microwave (cut in half, de-seeded, wrapped in plastic wrap) for about 15 minutes til it was tender. While it sat, still wrapped, steaming, I threw the following veggies in a BIG non-stick skillet - onion, tomatoes, carrots, spinach leaves, a can of baby corn, a can of bamboo shoots, pineapple chunks- added a little veggie broth and low sodium soy sauce for the saute. When the veggies got tender, I added the shredded squash, a little sea salt, and a little more soy sauce. I served it up with some duck sauce. Wow! Hot, hearty, and tasty! Who could ask for more? We do stir fry fairly often but usually serve it over rice. The spaghetti squash was a nice change and - the best part - this whole skillet was zero fat!

Morgan's Pancakes

Sunday morning is always a good time for pancakes and this new lifestyle doesn't hold us back too much. Here's a picture of Morgan's breakfast. I cut up some strawberries and heated them with a little Splenda, water, and Walden Farms pancake syrup. Yum yum!

Sweet Tooth

Sometimes you need some chocolate. I dusted off the old Chocolate Pudding Cake recipe tonight. Moderation would certainly need to be the order of the day with this one. I made it right by the recipe except I used 3 tablespoons of applesauce rather than 3 tablespoons of melted butter (and soy milk of course). It doesn't seem to have made any difference at all. Wow. John said he could only think of one word to describe it: decadent. You could feed this to non-vegans without even a disclaimer. I usually sub at least half Splenda when I make something sweet but I didn't do it tonight - wanting to try one substitution at a time. Good thing Morgan is here to help us eat this. We might hurt ourselves otherwise. :)

Pizza!!!

Finally I had enough time to do this! And surprisingly, in no more than the time that we would ordinarily call for delivery! Mark sent a different crust recipe and that's the one I tried. The recipe says it makes 2 - 12 inch pizzas but my stone is 15 inches. I may not have let it "rest" long enough and I didn't get alot of rise, but it was really delicious. The sauce is 365 brand and I put 1 packet of Boca crumbles (looks just like ground beef but none of the bad stuff) in the sauce with some fresh garlic and more spices. Then added thinly sliced roma tomatoes, chopped green pepper, chopped mushrooms and onion (on my half of the pizza) and some chopped spinach. Wow! What a treat! We'll definitely do this again. By the way, the stone worked great.

Tuscan Bread

We've been buying some artisan breads at Kroger for the past month or so. Since they start at about $5 per loaf, I decided it would be nice to make my own. I did a Google search for Tuscan Bread and used the recipe that seemed to pop up under multiple links (here). Mine was NOT pretty - I think I did ok until it came to forming the loaf. But it sure was tasty! Even Morgan loved it. (I baked it on a pizza stone with some corn meal sprinkled over it.) We served it with some whole wheat spiral pasta with 365 brand pasta sauce (right out of the jar - no modifications), and a nice fresh spinach salad with roma tomatoes. Wow! What a feast. I can't believe I thought I couldn't give up meat.

Pizza tonight!

Awesome Results

Just to add to the great results reports - John's brother Jack and his wife Pam have also joined this lifestyle. Jack called yesterday with an update. They have lost 20 pounds each. His cholesterol was 205 when they started back in late August. He had it checked again yesterday and it is now 142!!!! This plan works! More proof. Pam is set to see her doctor in a few weeks and we will be anxious to see those results as well.

Great job Jack! Congratulations. Jack's new blog is here.

Pizza Dough Recipe

Mark sent a recipe for a pizza crust and an awesome description the other day. I plan to make pizza at some point this weekend - among other things. This is copied and pasted from a post on the web.

"This is from pp.274-275 of Ornish's Eat More, Weigh Less, Jean-Marc Fullsack' s recipe. PIZZA DOUGH
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon honey
4 cups unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, honey, and 4 teaspoons of flour. Stir gently to combine. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let stand for 30 minutes in a warm place until foamy. Add the remaining flour and salt, then knead for about 10 minutes, until the dough is well combined and smooth; add small amounts of additional flour if the dough is sticky.

Transfer the dough to a large bowl, cover with a damp towel, and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes, or until doubled in volume. Punch the dough down and roll to fit into a 16-inch pizza pan.

When you've topped it with your favorite stuff, cook it in a preheated 450 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.

Here's my take on the recipe. I added herbs and garlic powder to the dough while kneading. I sort of stretched it to fit the pan by holding it in my hands and letting gravity pull down on it till it was almost big enough, then spread it on the pizza pan. I sprinkled more garlic and onion powder all over the dough, but especially on the edges. I also sprinkled it with a little bit of corn meal for texture. I put it in the oven while I finished chopping my veggies--about ten minutes?--so that it was not beginning to brown, but there was a definite hardness to the puffed up crust. This keeps the sauce from getting the dough soggy. "

Mark's personal tips:
He used parchment paper to line the pizza pan. He used soy pepperoni, onions, mushrooms and lots of onion and garlic. His came out like a pan pizza.

Thanks Mark. I'll be trying this soon.

Playing with beans

I cooked a pot of pinto beans the other night - and made some cornbread. It was such a good supper. (I use part water, part veggie broth to flavor the beans.) There were plenty of leftovers, and since Mark called my attention to the amount of fat in the veggie burgers, I've been wanting to work on a good substitute so the beans were a great vehicle. I don't have the exact quantities because this was kind of a "keep adding stuff til it tastes right" project- but here's what I did:
took the leftover beans and put them in my food processor with 8 or 10 of the little mini carrots, added some leftover brown rice, some egg substitute, some oatmeal, and started seasoning it. I used a tomato, some Worcestershire sauce, some Walden Farms barbecue sauce, a little salt and some pepper. Oh, and a little garlic powder too. I blended all that stuff together and then "fried" it by heaping spoonfuls in a non-stick skillet. It sticks a little if you turn it too soon, but I found if I was patient and let it brown good on each side, they didn't stick at all. It made a pretty good stack of what I am calling "bean cakes".

The first time I ate one, I had it on a bun with all the burger fixins. The next time, I just had it on a plate with a little ketchup on top - ate it with some "creamed" spinach (made with fresh spinach leaves, garlic and silken tofu) and a baked sweet potato with just a little cinnamon on top. It actually reminded me of a fried salmon patty - about the same texture. John hasn't tried it yet but I think it's pretty good.

At any rate, we have a ziploc bag full. Morgan is visiting this weekend. Hope she likes them!

Election Musings

Well, it sure didn't go the way I wanted it to go - and I am really disappointed. I've done alot of things throughout my life to elevate my circumstances - worked hard, gone to school full time and worked full time while driving over 65,000 miles to get to classes - moved the household a few times, once across an ocean - and been a good, patriotic citizen of this wonderful country that we call OURS. I have a really good job. I am so blessed to work from our beautiful home. John and I have a wonderful extended family and dynamic kids and in-laws and 7 beautiful, brilliant grandkids. We have a warm, loving Church family that encourages us and loves us. We have faithful friends. We are truly blessed.

I confess that I am concerned about what happens next. Information currently available about our President-elect's tax plan indicates that our income tax will DOUBLE. That is really a concern to me. Not that I mind paying my fair share - but I thought I already was. While I thought we were somewhat "comfortable", I never thought of us as "wealthy". I am concerned that if any of our "wealth" is redistributed, we may face some very serious decisions.

The one thing of which I am certain is this: God is still in control. The heart of the King is in the hands of the Lord. God is our ultimate Provider - Jehovah Jireh. He is our Peace - Jehovah Shalom. No matter what happens, we will praise Him.

Legal cake mixes are expensive.

I threw a little cake together today at lunch and ate a piece right out of the oven. It is pretty good - but I don't think I'm thru with the recipe just yet. Here's what I did:

1 cup unbleached organic flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt
egg replacer for 2 eggs
8 oz. of sierra mist free
1 tsp vanilla flavoring

I baked it in an 8 inch round pan lined with parchment paper so it wouldn't stick. (350 degrees)

Notice, no oil, no applesauce. I really didn't want the apple flavor in this - was trying for plain vanilla. It tastes good. It's a little sticky. John says it reminds him of the shortcake cups that we get during strawberry season. So maybe I'll just call this a shortcake! Yeah, that's what it is! Vanilla shortcake. LOL. It really would be good with some strawberries. If somebody takes this and works on it, I'd love for you to share your results.

Fireworks!

I am seeing fireworks today and they have nothing to do with the election. It is official this morning. I have lost 25 pounds!

We've been eating leftovers all weekend and yesterday. That dressing was as good left over as it was when it was made. However, I am still refining the recipe and I will make it again between now and Thanksgiving so I can share with you. Also, Mark wrote me about an awesome pizza he made! Wish he had taken a picture so we could share. He sent the recipe for the crust and I'll share that later this week.

Work has been pretty crazy in the past week with shipments hung up on both the Northern and Southern border so not much time to do anything except conference calls. No cooking means quick easy meals - cereal and fruit, oatmeal, toast, and leftovers. Maybe tonight I'll cook something new :)

Go out and exercise - your right to VOTE!

Dress(ing) rehearsal

I've had Thanksgiving on my mind lately. We are heading to Gulf Shores to spend the holidays with my folks and John's brother Jack and his wife Pam. Jack and Pam are on the program too and my folks are avoiding salt and trying to eat healthier. I want to cook as close to a traditional Thanksgiving dinner as we can.

Today I made some dressing. It tasted delicious - but I think I can do better. Today I made polenta and baked it like cornbread, added some En-R-G egg substitute, veggie broth, onions and seasonings. I added some faux chicken strips (you could easily leave those out). However, I'm thinking that I can find some plain cornmeal, add some unbleached flour and baking soda, etc, to make a more traditional cornbread and improve the recipe. I'll let you know how it comes out and post a recipe when I make up my mind.

Anyway, we had the "chicken" and dressing, mashed potatoes, and whole kernel corn along with some cranberry sauce (sorry, it was the canned stuff but I am going to do better for the holiday). I added up all the fat grams and for what we ate, even with the faux chicken, it looks like less than 4 grams of fat for the whole meal! That's only 36 calories of fat total. What do you think Mark? Does that sound better?

Kim was talking about making some bread. We've been buying some of the artisan breads that Kroger sells. They are very good- and legal - but pretty pricey. I may look for some bread recipes too.

Mmmmmmm. . . . chocolate cake

Kim sent me an awesome easy recipe for a chocolate cake. It's a Weight Watchers cake modified to fit our new lifestyle. I used a box of Cherrybrook brand chocolate cake mix (found at Kroger) and a can of Diet Coke. Yep. That's it. And that's ALL. At her suggestion, I sprinkled just a little confectioners sugar over the top and it is delicious! The texture is a little fudgy and that is perfection to me. Thanks Kim!

I miss scrambled eggs . . .

and no, this is NOT an "indiscretion", it's Scrambled Tofu! I've been missing scrambled eggs - mostly because I had the flu and I always eat scrambled eggs when I'm sick. As I was chasing some links last week, I saw a reference to scrambled tofu and did a Google search. There must have been hundreds of hits! I read thru several of them and put together about 3 of them to make this recipe. It was easy to fix - though a little more involved than real eggs - and really delicious. The texture is right, and they taste really good. Add a couple of slices of Ezekiel toast with some 365 brand apricot jam and it's a yummy breakfast (or supper if you do the whole "breakfast for supper" thing.

Now, this brings up a whole new topic: How about making just the tofu part of this with the seasoning, adding some of the fat-free sandwich spread, some mustard and some sweet pickle relish, salt and pepper to make egg salad???? Wouldn't that be good on an Ezekiel pita?

Something different for Breakfast

I told you that we mostly eat oatmeal for breakfast, but today I was in the mood for something different - and besides, doing this blog inspires my creativity - so I took some Ezekiel Raisin Bread and dipped it in a concoction of the equipvalent of 2 eggs made with En-R-G egg substitute powder and a little soy milk. I just cooked it in a non-stick skillet til it was brown on both sides and served it with a sprinkle of powdered sugar and some maple syrup. This was pretty good! It almost seemed a little too sweet (I know, how can that be right!) - and I think you could use the regular Ezekiel Bread and get good results as well. It was hot and hearty and I enjoyed the change-up.

For lunch, I did one of our favorites. I used a box of Spanish Rice by Rice-a-Roni and made it by the recipe except for the oil. I just browned the rice and pasta in a dry skillet and then added the water, seasoning, and canned tomatoes like the box says. Then I added one can of drained and rinsed black beans and a can of drained whole kernel corn. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes or so and serve it up! It's a good hot one-bowl lunch and easy to boot. Leftovers are in the fridge and may or may not make it til lunch tomorrow.

Sometimes you just NEED a burger.

Occasionally, we get an urge for a burger and the trimmings. We have found that this lifestyle allows for that if you are careful. We buy Sunshine Burgers at Wild Oats. They come 3 to a package and are fairly reasonably priced there. Heated in a skillet and served on an Ezekiel bread bun with all the regular trimmings (we use Nasoya no-fat sandwich spread instead of mayo), these are pretty darn good. Today we had hash brown potatoes cooked in a non-stick skillet and some Bush's Vegetarian Baked Beans doctored up a little with some maple syrup and some Walden Farms barbeque sauce. Yummy! Now, these burgers are made with sunflower seeds. I haven't seen anything banning them and we do use flax seeds and flax meal so I am assuming that these are OK. We buy the Garden Herb flavor. I bought the Southwestern flavor one time and really lit up my life!

Simple Hummus

Someone requested a hummus recipe. We don't eat alot of hummus right now but when we first started the lifestyle, I adapted a recipe out of Dr. Esseltyn's book and made a very simple batch. I am posting on the Family Recipe page. The recipe originally called for lemon but I only had lime so that's what I used. (I have never been very good at following instructions.) Anyway, try it out and let me know what you think.

A Vegan Ice Cream Paradise

Yippee! She said it would be OK so here is the link to some wonderful (I believe) ice cream recipes!
A Vegan Ice Cream Paradise has tips, ideas and recipes once you get past all the Obama stuff. We will need to be careful because she uses alot of soy creamer - which I thought would be fine until I looked at the label. They contain added oils :( However, if you read all the way down the page, there are some tips and disclaimers and you can use all soy milk in the recipes. It just won't be as rich. Hey, at this point, a reasonable facsimile of ice cream will be great, won't it? Thanks Agnes!

Pizza

I was craving pizza this afternoon. I had some Ezekiel Bread Pitas in the fridge so I took one, smeared a little leftover spaghetti sauce on it, added some fake Canadian bacon, some onions, and some green peppers. Then I put it in the oven until the sauce was bubbly. It really was pretty tasty! Made the house smell good too. Wish I'd had some mushrooms. . .

Ice Cream? Legal???

I had bought John a soft-serve ice cream maker for his birthday and thought we would have to put it away but I found an interesting website today. It's full of vegan ice cream recipes that sound absolutely fabulous. We'll be trying these receipes from time to time and probably making some minor adjustments since we eat fat-free. I will exchange emails with the author and see if she minds if I provide a link if the recipes are good.

Maybe we'll leave that ice cream maker out after all.

So what do we eat?

Oatmeal is a staple of our morning meal. John has his with maple syrup and raisins. I, not particularly fond of oatmeal, have mine with Splenda and cocoa! (Remember the no-bake cookies with chocolate, peanut butter and oatmeal?) I leave out the peanut butter now and feel like I'm having a bowl of cookies for breakfast. Yummy!

For lunch we had the leftover lasagna from last night. Then we polished off the rest of the apple pie.

Tonight, we part ways. John is having a can of Hormel Vegetarian Chili with Beans. I am making a cabbage soup. (cabbage, onion, carrots, tomatoes, and veggie broth). I love it. He hates cabbage and anything made with cabbage. I'm making a big pot of this stuff so I'll probably be eating the leftovers for a few days. I don't mind.

He'll probably turn to one of his favorites: a big baked potato covered with a can of cream style corn :)

The Starting Block

John gives blood about every 6 weeks or so - or when the vampires call - and Lifeblood posts cholesterol results on the web each time so we have a record of his results for about a year. The time that he gave blood before we started this lifestyle, his cholesterol was 203. After only 6 weeks, it is 149. He's due to give blood again in a couple of weeks and we are anxious to see the results. He's lost 16 pounds.

I went to the doctor and had some bloodwork done after one week on the diet. My cholesterol was 189 - really not too bad - but my glucose levels were just a little bit high (105). Six weeks later, I bit the bullet and donated blood myself and my new level after 6 weeks was 168. I have lost 22 pounds.

We both complain because we are not losing weight faster - BUT - we are eating really well and we eat all we want. It certainly doesn't feel like we are on a diet - and if you saw our plates at Care Group last night, you wouldn't think we would EVER lose an ounce. So, I guess, all-in all, we shouldn't complain.

Sometimes it's for health reasons.

John and I started eating a vegan diet on August 18th, 2008. Neither of us has any real health problems but I have about a quarter-ton of weight to lose and he had a nice little pot belly. He was hooked on Oreos and Mountain Dew and I was hooked on anything chocolate.

We have a friend who turned us onto this new lifestyle. He HAD some health problems and had found this while recuperating from an episode with his heart. His cholesterol had dropped from 212 to 71 in just a few weeks (the bad LDL dropped from 155 to 34!) and his weight had dropped 50 pounds in about 4 months.
As he sang the praises of the new diet, I reminded him time and again that I was an old Atkinser and had only had good results as a carnivore. Still, as soon as we hung up the phone, I ordered the book. (See the link.)

After a week of travel, the book arrived and we started our new eating regimen on a Monday morning. Remarkably, this is the easiest diet I have ever been on to stick with. I have traveled, we have socialized, we've had "comfort food", and now even lasagna! Nobody is more surprised than I that we have enjoyed it so much.

Anyway, after lots of requests for recipes and hints (and all those people watching to see if we can really stick to it), I've decided to chronicle the journey.

Comments and suggestions are always welcome.