Shopping

It was a challenge shopping at Publix this morning........they didn't have a few of the things that I needed, and they kept the rest of them hidden, lol.  Finally had to ask a store manager where the tahini was.  Publix does not carry oat flour, kelp powder, Ener-G Egg Replacer, or nutritional yeast.  Luckily, my sweet and lovely daughter, Liz, offered to go pick up those things at Whole Foods for me.  WF had everything but the kelp powder.  (Guess my recipe will just have to do without the kelp.)

I can tell this project is going to take a lot of grocery shopping!  I went to the Clemmons produce yesterday, Publix and Whole Foods today.  After shopping, I washed, trimmed and cooked some fresh green beans, and made the Golden Couscous Salad.  OMG, what a job!  My kitchen looked like a bomb went off in it.  The salad was delicious, but very labor intensive. 

So here is what I had today.....

Breakfast:  Coffee, a whole wheat English muffin with cashew butter and jelly.  Orange juice with fresh strawberries.
Snack:  banana
Lunch:  Garden salad with homemade dressing, and some whole wheat Ritz with cashew butter
Snack:  Tortilla chips
Dinner:  Golden Couscous Salad, green beans, a tomato, some radishes and cucumber slices and a cup of coffee.

Not hard at all, but there IS a piece of my chocolate birthday cake left that keeps staring at me.  It has eggs, so I can't have it.....I'll have to look into those vegan desserts in case I have a sweet attack. 

Karen

checking

Just checking to see if the email forwarding works

Getting started

I have a new cookbook "1000 Vegan Recipes."  I looked through it tonight for some things I could make this week that wouldn't take a ton of ingredients that I'd have to buy.  In my freezer I already have black bean soup, lentil soup, onion soup (but it's made with chicken broth, so that's out), lentil loaf, vegetable curry, vegetarian sloppy joe mix (made with mashed lentils) turkey chili------can't have that so I should make some vegetable chili.

Here are the new recipes I decided to make :

Brown Rice Salad with Black Eyed Peas
Queso Dip
Golden Couscous Salad
Macaroni Salad
Golden Potato Soup
Pasta Arrabbiata

Oops, just remembered that we are having a breakfast at work Friday...I need to bring something for that, and Easter is next Sunday.  We are having dinner at my sister's house.  No Easter ham for me this year...(that's ok; ham always makes me feel so bloated after I eat it).  Maybe I'll volunteer to bring the dessert and the salad.  OK, off to hunt for more recipes.

Karen

Why?

I watched Oprah's Vegan Challenge last week and was intrigued.  I already eat a mostly vegetarian diet, so I wondered, "Can I give up the cheese, eggs and milk too?"  Most of the Harpo employees said how physically good they felt after only a week of a plant based diet.  I want to try it for a week.  Not to lose weight, (although dropping 5 pounds would be great), and not because I feel that ethically I shouldn't eat dairy....I am doing it for the health benefits.  Most of everything I've been reading lately has convinced me that a plant based diet is best for our health and energy level.

I am a 3 year breast cancer survivor, and I'm still taking tamoxifen.  It makes me so tired and unfocused...my energy level is very low, and I have sleep problems.  I'd like to get back to the gym, (I used to be a 5 times a weeker) but just thinking about it seems overwhelming.  On weekends, it's all I can do to get the laundry and the grocery shopping done.  On weeknights, I just lay on the couch and play computer games and watch movies.  I've gained some weight, and I just feel unhealthy.  I recently went on a new medication to counteract the effects of the tamoxifen, but I still don't have the energy and enthusiasm that I used to.

I don't think it will be that big of a change from how I'm eating, but it will still be a challenge.  I'll see how I feel after a week, and decide whether I want to continue.  Or maybe it takes more than a week to feel the effects? 

Karen