This week I've been undergoing a "vegan challenge". I had joined the 21-Day Vegan Kickstart (free to join), which began on January 3, but I didn't follow a vegan plan for the entire first week. Then I learned about a "vegan challenge" where I work. They were doing a 7-day challenge, and I was determined to give it a try. (A vegan diet contains no animal products - so no meat, dairy, eggs, honey.)
The majority of my meals this week came from Brendan Brazier's Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life and from Robin Robertson's Vegan Planet. In some ways, it was nice (lots of fruits and veggies, new recipes to try), but my food processor definitely got a workout, and so did my digestive tract. Let's just say I had a lot of fiber and flax. :)
Here's my menu so far this week (in somewhat random order, not necessarily by meal):
*Denotes Thrive Diet recipe, or at least derived from a Thrive Diet recipe ;)
Monday:
Quinoa and Sweet Potato Pancakes*
Salad with cukes, tomatoes, nutritional yeast, sesame seeds*
Dressing made with tomatoes, oil, vinegar, and agave nectar*
Homemade vegetable crackers*
Clementine, banana
Energy bar*
Tofu & Kale Spanakopita (Vegan Planet recipe)
Tuesday:
almonds, date, flax, carob powder, Vega powder, almond milk*
Tofu & Kale Spanakopita leftovers
pear, apple
Energy bar*
potatoes/onion
Boca burger
applesauce
prunes, peanut butter, almonds
popcorn with nutritional yeast
Wednesday:
Quinoa and Sweet Potato Pancakes*
lentil soup with quinoa
clementines, banana, pineapple
Energy bar*
Polenta Chili Casserole (Vegan Planet recipe)
almonds, raisins, peanut butter
Thursday:
Oatmeal with pumpkin, walnuts, almond milk
Salad with cukes, tomatoes, nutritional yeast, sesame seeds*
Dressing made with tomatoes, oil, vinegar, and agave nectar*
Clementines, pear, almonds
Homemade vegetable crackers*
Energy bar*
Mac and "Cheese" (Vegan Planet recipe - pictured below)
Chocolatey Peanut Butter Brownie (Vegan Planet recipe - pictured below)
Friday:
Tortilla with peanut butter, banana and strawberries
Mac and "Cheese" leftovers (lunch and dinner)
Homemade vegetable crackers*
almonds, pineapple, carrots
Chocolatey Peanut Butter Brownie
Quite frankly, I miss eggs. I don't really miss meat, but I miss eggs. Thursday night I had a dream that I ate something with egg in it and after I ate it I thought, "Wait, eggs aren't vegan!" and then I woke up. One of my son's favorite meals is "eggs and toast" and we usually have that for dinner a few times a month, so I think those dinners will stay. :)
Energy-wise, for the first 3 days I was kind of tired (probably sugar withdrawal) but by Thursday, I had tons of energy. Basement painting here I come! We are turning part of the basement into a playroom for the kids. I let the kids choose the colors - one wall will be pink, and the other will be green.
Have a great weekend!
