Friday, February 27, 2009

random thoughts

I am loving the "Vegan 'til Six" lifestyle so far. I feel good and it's not hard. The only hard part is the coffee. I think the problem is that I don't like sweetened coffee and the soy and almond milks are too sweet. Must find unsweetened, as Jessica pointed out.

Yesterday I checked out a vegan cookbook from the library. When I cracked it open I realized it's full of tons of fake food--fake vegan eggs, fake vegan cheese, fake vegan bacon. That's so the opposite of what I'm trying to do here. I so prefer Mark Bittman's concept of "sane eating"--eating tons more plants and being very smart and selective about what animal products you do use.

When I set out the soft mushrooms on a place where the children could reach them, Dieter immediately started playing with them by making them "shoot." Very boyish, I think. And he doesn't even watch any "shooting" type shows or movies. What's with that? Similarly, when I gave Ken his "stick valentine" Dieter played with it by bonking and poking his brother. Hmm. (On the other hand, what a great indoor stick alternative!)
I need to start exercising. I haven't exercised all winter and my weight shows it. It's hard to get motivated for a walk after work, but time and again I hear that exercise is what helps us slow down the aging process in so many ways. And I must stay as young as possible for these little boys. And myself too. I start on Saturday.
I was amazed when Dieter and I made these roasted potatoes and garlic cloves from the River Cottage Family Cookbook. He was totally into it, even though it wasn't baking. I must capture this enthusiasm. I think we'll switch to mostly this type of cooking while I'm doing the vegan thing.
This is what the boys have been dancing to nearly every day since Ken got out this old CD. Oh how they love it! Oh how cute they are dancing! Must make a videotape. (Sadly, I have Jan & Dean songs stuck in my head all the time now) . . .

Happy Friday! Ken and I are going to try to work out a date night.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Isn't that just so annoying??fake foods of foods that you are trying to avoid.
I hear you on the exercising front.I haven't ran since October and I am now 17 weeks pregnant and have no desire to lace up my shoes!!But I know that I must do something otherwise it is just a vicious cycle of no energy,no exercise.
Have fun on your Date,hubby and I are waiting on a call from the babysitter to see if we can sneak a couple of hours together.it is so important:0)
Cheerio

Joy said...

There are unsweetened almond and rice milks that might work better for you. I sympathize with the fake food thing. I get annoyed with that as well. If you know what you want to make, try searching vegweb.com for a vegan alternative. Lots of great (non-fake) recipes there. What is it with little boys and shooting...and bonking...and sword-fighting? I've given up trying to force it out of mine; they seem hardwired in some way. Have fun on your date!

ames said...

Happy Friday indeed! Thome potatoes look lovely, I'm going to have to give them a try too :)

Anonymous said...

If your boys are enjoying cooking projects you should really check out the Book of Days over at Blue Yonder. For some reason (even though I don't know you at all- just from your blog!) I think that you would love it. The crafts and science experiments are awesome and the kid-friendly cooking projects are very fun. We're kind of obsessed around my house :)

Natalie said...

The vegan til six thing is working out well (only 2 days). hehe.

Have a fun date night!

emily said...

I have never found a good substitute for cream in coffee. I find soy cream to be disgusting, partly b/c of that fake-sweet taste. It's a big part of the reason I stopped my mostly vegan diet - that and a rediscovered love of cheese and eggs (though I'm trying to get back to a better balance). It's hard to find a nut/seed milk that doesn't separate in coffee. Sorry I don't have any helpful ideas. Maybe you could try steaming unsweetened soy milk?

Jessica said...

I've really been enjoying the Vegan until 6 lifestyle as well. I was shocked to see so many 'fake' foods in vegan cook books when I got them out of the library. I am still searching for a good natural vegan cookbook. I hope your weekend is going well!

Anonymous said...

Have you tried rice milk?

Nova said...

you should see if you can find The Veganomicon in your library! they really avoid fake-meats & lots of the recipes are marked with a handy 'supermarket friendly' icon too.. i can *really* recommend the lemon coconut bundt cake! yummy...

good luck & go you!!