Day 2 - All Meals

DAY 2
Breakfast: Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes and Facon Bacon

I know what you're thinking...again? Well, I had leftovers and did not want them to go to waste. Plus, the pancakes and "bacon" were really good anyway. Don't forget it's only me in the house...and I am not good at cutting recipes down to 1-2 servings...it's a metric thing!

DAY 2
Lunch: Couscous Confetti Salad and Carrot and Red Pepper Soup

What? Aren't you tired of that stuff, you ask? Heck no! Some of the best food I have ever made...not to mention, you guessed it, I had leftovers from yesterday! And I neglected to mention this in my first post, but the Carrot and Red Pepper Soup is super yummy! It is thick and rich, but not super-filling since it is mostly made of carrots and roasted red peppers. You need to make this soup...and the couscous, of course!

DAY 2
Dinner: Spinach Salad with Orange Sesame Dressing

This was actually supposed to be lunch, but I made it my dinner since I ate yesterday's lunch again. This colorful salad is super low-cal and high in Beta Carotene, with Vitamin C and calcium.

I also added some shredded red cabbage since I had some left over from the couscous dish. And believe it or not, there is spinach under all those fruits and veggies!

This is the first time I ever toasted sesame seeds, and they smelled so good baking in the oven! This salad was tasty and filling, but next time I would make it a little smaller and incorporate a tofu or tempeh topping in order to add some protein and substance. Overall pretty good though.

DAY 2
Snack: Fantastic Fruit Smoothie

Yes, the same snack as yesterday because it was too good to pass up! Plus, I figured it would not be too bad for me since I just had a salad for dinner...see you tomorrow!

Wired

I could not sleep last night...had visions of blogging on my mind! All the high-energy vegan food in the world could not keep me from taking a 50-minute nap today. I have never blogged before, and I love it! I will write about Day 2 food shortly. Not much to write since I mostly had leftovers from yesterday!

Day 1 - Snack

DAY 1
Snack: Fantastic Fruit Smoothie

I don't have a picture for this one, but I wanted to let you know how awesome the Fantastic Fruit Smoothie turned out.

Since I could not make it to the health food store to get soy yogurt, I made my own "soy-gurt" by blending a package of silken tofu, some plain soy milk, a dash of real vanilla extract and a tiny bit of raw sugar. I then added a banana (cut into chunks) and some frozen peaches. Topping it off with some naturally-sweetened pomegranate/cranberry juice made it one of the best smoothies I have ever had! I don't typically make fruit smoothies because of the caloric content, but this one is really low in sugar and fills you up so you don't crave junk food...BONUS!

Day 1 - Dinner

DAY 1
Dinner: Hoppin' John Salad and Kwick Kale

Although this meal was very simple to make, I have to admit I was not a huge fan of the Hoppin' John Salad. It is a low-cal, low-fat and low-carb dish, and you can tell. It needed more of a bite, more flavor. If I were to make it again I would add some herbs that I know would complement the other ingredients, and perhaps more garlic...you can never have too much of that! Of course, I am not a huge lover of beans, so perhaps it was the black-eyed peas? I don't know.
But I will tell you the Kwick Kale was phenomenal! I had never cooked kale before, and now I will be cooking it all the time. Rich in calcium and Beta Carotene, this ultra low-cal dish is super tasty; I could eat tons of it and not feel guilty!
This might sound odd, but I also chopped up a few dried apricots and ate them along with the kale. The flavor was incredible, as the seasoned rice vinegar was the perfect companion to the apricots. Kale is my new best friend. Hearty, healthy and cheap, too!

Day 1 - Lunch

DAY 1
Lunch: Couscous Confetti Salad and Carrot and Red Pepper Soup

All I can say is WOW! One of the best couscous dishes I have ever made, and I have made plenty over the years. Check out the colors of these wonderful veggies (and apricots)...just gorgeous!

This Couscous Confetti Salad was the perfect complement to the Carrot and Red Pepper Soup.

Both dishes took more time than the usual dish because of the vegetable prep time, but it was definitely worth it. I highly recommend both of them!

Great sources of Beta Carotene, fiber, calcium and Vitamin C, too!

Day 1 - Breakfast

DAY 1
Breakfast: Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes and Facon Bacon

Since I did not have my apple juice concentrate thawed out in time, I was unable to make Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal for breakfast today. In its place, I decided to follow the recipes for Day 2: Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes and Facon Bacon.

Let me tell you, it was one of the best breakfast meals I have had in a long time! I need to elaborate on the Facon Bacon part since most of you might question it. Of course, it does not taste like bacon...thank goodness, because I never liked the taste of bacon anyway!

First, I need to thank my mom for buying me a mortar and pestle years ago, because it came in handy for grinding the fennel and cumin seeds.

I realize tempeh is not attractive in the least, and kinda looks moldy (but it is not, I promise), but it can be rather tasty if prepared properly.


I am not going to publish the recipe on here, but I will tell you the "bacon" is first cooked in a pan to absorb the flavor of the juices and spices, and then broiled in the oven to become crisp. Next time I will know to slice the tempeh thinner (which is difficult to do) so it becomes crispier. Here's how the Facon Bacon turned out...mmmm, yummy! And we can't forget the blueberry pancakes...they were tasty as well!

Background, Reasons, Decisions, Commitments...

I am a tree hugger, animal lover, music freak, movie whore, worshipper of Ireland, design student, photography enthusiast. I am obsessed with coffee, snob beer and Indian food. I need the sun. I like to create virtually anything...been doing that since birth. I love to write, but find it challenging to read...I think I have bookmarks in 6 different books right now! Poor grammar and spelling errors grind on me more than anything...don't they teach diagramming in school anymore? Gosh, there is so much more to tell, but...I'll stop...oh wait...last but not least, and most importantly, I am a vegetarian.

I have been a vegetarian for almost 20 years (since I was 17) and have contemplated becoming vegan on several occasions. So when I received an email from PCRM about participating in the 21-Day Vegan Kickstart, it was a no-brainer; I committed immediately. (http://www.21daykickstart.org/)

PCRM, which stands for Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, is a nonprofit organization very close to my heart. "PCRM promotes preventive medicine through innovative programs" and "encourages higher standards for ethics and effectiveness in research." They "oppose unethical human experiments" and "promote alternatives to animal research." (www.pcrm.org)

After reviewing the meal plan and recipes for the first week of the program, I began to take inventory of all the food in my house and then made my grocery list. I must admit I had a lot of fun food shopping since I knew I would soon be creating some spectacular, healthy dishes. And I love to cook, so this is going to be a lot of fun for me. How amazing it will be to create such beautiful, colorful dishes, all while reaping the health benefits, including weight loss, energy gain and much more!

To view the tasty meal plan, please visit http://www.21daykickstart.org/mealplan/index.cfm. I will be following all of the recipes and posting pictures as I go. I may switch some meals around by day, but will be strictly adhering to the diet. No dairy, no eggs, no processed junk. I may write once per day, or I may write 5x per day...if I'm not online, you can find me in the kitchen or in my Multimedia Design 2 class.

I am excited to begin this journey and look forward to hearing what you all think! As you can imagine, any "diet" is a challenge, but this is more than just a diet...it is a lifestyle. Being a vegetarian for almost 20 years makes this 21-Day Vegan Kickstart very simple for me. It may take more time and thought, but it will be worth it if it means having a healthier body for 2010!

Happy New Year and Slainte!

~ Sheryl