going strong!

Well things are going well in my vegan world. I have actually lost a couple of pounds and I am feeling better than ever. My family is doing quite well with the transition too. We have found tons of recipes we really enjoy including one I'm gonna share at the end of this post. One thing that has occurred to me this week is how typically people label going "veg" as expensive. I have found the opposite is true. The money I have been saving NOT eating fast food is tremendous for one. I have also found what is so expensive is the fake meat and cheese stuff. This past week I have learned to make seitan which is uber cheap to make, I buy tofu when it goes on sale at my local co-op in bulk and freeze it, and we just do not like soy cheese...so all in all being vegan is actually cheaper than being a meat eater. Today we made our first trip to the Farmers market. Pickings were slim but I was able to purchase sweet potatoes, greens, zuchinni, summer squash,  and blackberries for under $20 which in my opinion was a steal...and once again money saved. Anyway, the recipe I promised...so as I have stated before we really like seitan. Today the hubby was craving gyros so we decided to see if we could make a vegan gyro...boy did we ever. Hubby made Tzaziki using soy yogurt and I made seitan using a recipe I got from Vegan Dad.

The Gyro meat:

http://vegandad.blogspot.com/2008/06/veggie-lunch-meat.html

I used the above recipe but instead of the spices he used I used:

1/2tsp marjoram

1/2tsp oregano

1/2tsp onion powder

3 cloves of garlic

2 tsp. sea salt

Then I cooked it according to his method.

The Tzaziki is as follows:

1 (8 ounce) container of plain soy yogurt
1 cucumber
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 lemon, juiced and zest
1-1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill
1-1/2 cloves garlic, peeled
5 Mint Leaves, chopped fine
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions  

Peel and seed the cucumber. Place the cucumbers in a strainer over a bowl and cover with salt. This will leech out a lot of the water and help assure you have a thick sauce.
In a food processor or blender, combine all ingredients. Process until well-combined.
Transfer to a separate dish, cover and refrigerate for at least one hour for best flavor, over night is suggested.
The first step is very important. If not followed you will make Tzatziki soup, not sauce.

We heated up some Bible Bread pitas, stuffed them with the gyro seitan, fresh, raw spinach leaves, thin slices of white onion, and a heaping spoonful of tzaziki sauce. YUMMY!

Mcdougall

So far things are going well. I have found lots of really great recipes. Tonight I made Barbecued Seitan Ribz, a recipe I got from Fat Free Vegan Kithchen. They were soooo yummy. I also discovered a chocolate pudding recipe from Beautiful Vegan that is made with avocados...too good to be true. And I am enjoying lots of veggies too. I am trying to incorporate veggies into meals that I typically did not eat them in before such as breakfast. I am afriad though that I am still consuming too much fat...i.e. avocado chocolate pudding...so I have been looking into this Mcdougall program. It seems like I am pretty much following the program already with the exception that I have been using olive oil when I cook and I must admit i like the faux meat stuff. Tommorow I will begin to do the 12-day program and just see if it doesn't help me get some weight loss going. OH and I am commiting to training to run in a 5k August 22. What an accomplishment that will be. It is 8 weeks away so I have time to lose a little weight and build up some endurance. My goal is to be able to run at least half the race! Oh and one small change I have noticed already in the past week: I am staying full longer and feeling full with less! Thats a pretty good change I think.

Me and the hubby!

And in the beginning....

 I have debated writing a lengthy intro to give you all out there in cyber world insight into my past and present thought processes in order to more clearly illustrate what has brought me to my recent transformation...but I decided it is not important. I am here now and now is really all that matters. All that is important to know is that I woke up one day 80 pounds overweight, with a pantry full of Walmart plastic bags, a car that reaks of Mcdonalds, and a realization that it has been 5 years since i have been hiking or camping. Beliefs that I once held dearly somwhere along the way of becoming a mommy and a full time nursing student, got tossed to the side for traditional, American, fast convenience; this makes me feel ill mentally and physically. Maybe things would be different if I didn't know better, but I do. I heard it once said that knowledge is responsibility and I believe that to the fullest. So here I am, wish me luck!