Week 2

{In which the intimidated imperfect newbies dive into Veganlandia head first}

Kate says:

Bless me Joaquin Phoenix for I have sinned!

It’s been five days since going vegan, and I am still using lip balm with beeswax in it. Sigh. Maybe I will write to Pangea and see if they have plans to make a vegan version. It’s just so damn good! Tastes like making out with Tuscany. In order to balance my compassionate reasons for becoming vegan and my environmental reasons, I am going to finish up the lip balms I have that contain beeswax, and then replace them with vegan ones. I just can’t see throwing them all out–so wasteful!

Plus, I read an article by a vegan beekeeper that encouraged me about the possibility of ethically obtained honey and beeswax. So, I’m still undecided about whether or not I want to include honey and beeswax products in my life. In any case, if I do, I would want to continue to buy from small local places rather than large scale commercially-produced honey or processed foods that contain honey from an unknown source.

“When you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

I hate when people say that. It’s annoying and smug. (And true.)

Day one of my vegan adventure was fully vegan, but less than stellar. I woke up slowly New Year’s Day. Not hungover. Not 100% my bounce-out-of-bed self either. I made a stronger than usual batch of French-pressed goodness and drank that for awhile. My little brother called to see if I wanted to go to the movies, so I let the kids play with their dad  and headed out to see Tintin. Naturally, for lunch I had half a bag of Skittles.

I love to cook. And I love to cook healthy, whole foods. But sometimes, if left to my own devices, I will eat like a five year old dreams she will eat when she’s an adult. Yeah….black coffee and Skittles. Both vegan. Neither too helpful in the nutrition department. Some days are like that. Kale is great, but life isn’t always kale. Some days, life is Skittles.

As you can imagine, by dinner time I felt horrendous. I made up for the craptastic day with an amazing homemade vegan taco feast.

Breakfast of Champions!

Cooking is one of my favorite creative outlets. But at six o’clock on a Monday morning when I have two kids to feed, dress and get off to school while getting myself assembled in the process? I don’t usually feel too creative. If I am going to eat something healthy that will sustain me until later in the day, it needs to be something I can prepare quickly. Also helps if it’s portable. (You saw what happened when I didn’t plan ahead…a girl can’t live on black coffee and Skittles alone!)

If I’m really pressed for time, I grab a LARA bar and a piece of fruit. If I know I’m going to be eating breakfast at home, I try to soak some gluten-free oats in almond milk the night before and then heat them up when I get hungry. (Sometimes I’ll even soak oats and bring them as my dinner at school. Oats, almond milk, a spoonful of maple syrup, nutmeg, and some diced walnuts? Mmmmm….definitely Goldilocks-worthy!)  Most days,  I make a green smoothie. If I’m home all morning, I’ll make it when I get hungry. If I have to head out right away, I’ll make it and take it with me for later.

Favorite of the week:

2 cups Swiss Chard, 1 cup water, 1/2 cup blueberries, 1/2 frozen banana, teaspoon of ground flaxseed.

My tip: blend the greens and water first, then add the rest and blend again.  Looks crazy, but tastes sweet and mild enough that my kids like it too.

Verdict? Week one was pretty smooth over-all, and I’m looking forward to next week!