Sunday, March 13, 2011

how 30-day vegan is going

30 day vegan
{oatmeal sundae}

30 day vegan
{faith's green smoothie: cucmber, pineapple, banana, mango, spinach, water}

30 day vegan
{family-friendly pad thai}

30 day vegan
{vegan fried rice}

30 day vegan
{green smoothie at work}

30 day vegan
{arugula and chickpea salad, recipe here}

30 Day Vegan started this past Monday. I was still in the hospital with Rainer, so I started Tuesday night when I go home. Heather is running a beautiful program. I'm blown away by the quality of what she has put together. The recipes are delicious and simple and based on real food: veggies, beans, grains--nothing fake or heavily processed. Her twice daily blog posts are gentle and thought provoking. It is just a lovely program.

I'm struggling a bit. Mostly because it is so much work! Here is what I don't like about being vegan: you have to cook all your own food, and the cooking involves a lot of chopping and long-cooking of beans and grains. There is just no way around it: following a whole foods diet really is more work. The reason I wanted to do this program was to stop some of my bad eating habits which have intensified lately. It's working, but I really see why I opt for convenience a lot of the time: because I'm stressed and busy.

But I am sticking with the program. And I have to say, even though I feel a bit deprived because I want to fall back on old comfort routines (stopping for a donut on my way to work, for example, or having coffee with cream or milk), I'm not really suffering. The food is so good. Surprisingly good, I must say. My goal is to stick with the program, learn a lot of delicious recipes (which I am), and then, at the end, evaluate what I want to "keep" and what I want to add back in.

Heather encouraged us to plan some sort of treat for this weekend. I didn't really plan anything, but ended up, late in the day, making a healthy vegan cookie that she had posted on her blog in the past (here) and Ken and I went to Starbucks for a little date. I had a soy latte and it was really good. Having a treat really helped.

11 comments:

Val said...

Good nice interesting and healthy program! And it's soo nice to hear about Rainer being well again! Well done :) Take care,
Valerie

Ellen said...

Just wanted to stop in and say how glad I am that Ranier is better and I still think of your family often.

This post made me feel better, too (guilty confession). I debated and debated with myself about joining 30 day Vegan. I decided not to in the end because I had a feeling that it would be too much for me to take on at this point. Your post just reinforced that I probably did make the right decision.

I am very much hoping she'll do something similar again in the future when my life is less crazy (like in the summer!). I am glad to hear it's a great program.

Anonymous said...

So happy that Rainer is doing better!

I soak my beans overnight while I sleep and cook them in a crockpot all day while I am away from the house. Super easy!

I cook my rice at a low boil instead of a simmer. It cooks in about half the time and it looks and tastes just the same.

Peace & Love,
Donna

Anonymous said...

Hi there,

I am so happy to hear that Rainer is on the mend,how scary for you.It happened to our daughter when she was five months old,something similar.that was eight years ago,feels like yesterday.
You ar ein my thoughts and prayers xx

~I haven't posted in a long time,my computer died a while back and lost my beloved blog bookmark with it,hundreds of them,I am so glad to have you back on my list as I always enjoy reding,i have a lot of catchingup to do:)

many blessings
xx

Denise C. said...

You're braver than me to try the vegan lifestyle!

Unknown said...

i am so bummed..i missed the the deadline and didn't make it in to the program...do you know of anything else like it or perhaps another 30 day type cookbook or something...seems impossible to do on my own... {yikes}

wishing you luck and btw your blog is s sunny spot for me xxxooo

Megan said...

As a fellow traveler on the 30 Day Vegan path, I'm right there with you. Last week I made a quinoa salad that I immediately divided into 4 lunch containers. But day 5? I totally got stuck. So tonight I am soaking both quinoa and brown rice, and plan to stir fry a bunch of veggies after dinner. Then they'll be all ready to go. But the time? Yeah, it's a lot.

I'm glad things are better on the homefront, and sorry you are left without any answers.

Melissa said...

Looks like you are doing great. Your meals are looking tasty. Several years ago I jumped on the vegan bandwagon and collected a few vegan cookbooks. My favorites being Isa Chandra Moskowitz's. I actually want to get her newest one. I basically quit because of the lack of time to prepare food. I lived off of peanut butter sandwiches and salads. So it looks like you are doing so much better than I was. :)

Mary Beth said...

dutchgirl and fine as frog hair: if I were you I'd definitely e-mail Heather and express an interest in taking the program if she were to offer it again. She's a fabulous instructor--so accepting and gentle--that I bet she'd be willing to offer the course more than once if there were an interest.

fine as frog hair--I totally get what you mean. I need structure too, which is why I decided to join the program.

Heather's regular blog is here: http://beautythatmoves.typepad.com/beauty_that_moves/

Lucila said...

sorry, a bit late here. Very glad to hear rainer is well again, it must have been so scary!
One tip to cut cooking times: get a pressure cooker! I know it is one more thing to have, but if you are planning to stick with this idea of eating more beans, and brown rice, and the lot, it might be a good investment (it takes 10 minutes to cook lentils instead of, say, 45. good luck with it, looks like you are doing really well, it even inspired me, very much a carnivore.

HeatherLee said...

I use my crockpot a lot. I have a small and large one. My large one got bad reviews for cooking to hot. But, it is perfect for dried beans because they cook in 6 hours or less.