Vegan in a House of Carnivores: Episode 2

It’s been a little over 18 months since I started my vegan journey. If you read through my first post  then you have a sense of what being the only one of four that follows the same diet. But today I want to talk about how I got here.

After several years of not loving being a meat eater I knew that I was on the verge of change. But you know how you can feel change coming but try to ignore it? Denial isn’t just a river in Egypt…lol. Yeah, well the universe had other ideas.

Hot flash

Maybe five years ago I began having peri-menopause symptoms. About four years ago those symptoms decided to be  even more present…and bothersome…and more constant. Add to that I was dealing with (and still am) some joint pain and you are put in a position of doing something. My something was to play with my food intake.

First I gave up all processed foods and white sugar. That helped a lot. Second I cut back on (but didn’t quit) caffeine which also had an impact. I bought a bread maker and started making all our baked goods from scratch and with American grown wheat. We made eating foods that are green a priority and juiced quite frequently. Eventually all our meals were made from scratch (time consuming) and everybody felt better in some way

Along the way a friend going through the same thing talked about Maca root and how that had helped her…so I gave that a try. Worked like a charm! (please don’t run out and try anything without consulting your physician) Actually worked for about 2 full years. No hot flashes or night sweats…was a beautiful thing. Until it wasn’t.

In between here somewhere I found a new doctor. An integrative doctor. They take your entire lifestyle into consideration and prescription drugs are not the first line of defense…which is exactly what I wanted. No drugs but a lifestyle modification.

So I went vegan. All at once.

And a funny thing happened. Most of my symptoms either disappeared or dramatically reduced.

It took about 6-8 months to really grasp the differences. First it was small things like waking up easier and falling asleep quicker. Then it was no night sweats (which had come back with a vengeance when my body didn’t like the maca anymore). Hot flashes quit. ( yay!)

Joint pain and joint flaring was still an issue. And sometime debilitating. As an example my shoulder would flare and I wouldn’t be able to lift an arm for the better part of a day without yelling in pain. So my new doc suggested we do some food elimination. So in addition to vegan I went gluten free for about 6 months.

Let’s just say this was not my favorite time. Try not eating any animal products…no meat, dairy, cheese, yogurt, etc. then add to that anything with wheat or flour in it. Have you looked at ingredient list lately? Gluten is in EVERYTHING! No pasta, no bread, no crackers, bagels…you get the picture. It’s a whole new diet and one that took quite a bit of research.

At the end I didn’t feel much different without the gluten. I have added a full regimen of vitamins. You’d be surprised how many things your body is missing. Make sure your doc does thorough blood testing! I feel like a different person.

Maybe you want a change..in how you feel…in your well being? Try some food experimentation…you never know how much better you can feel until you try it!

 

Until next time,

Susan

Vegan in a House of Carnivores

It’s been about 18 months since I made the plunge into a vegan diet. Not because I have an emotional attachment to animals, although I do on some level, and not necessarily to help save the planet, which I do think needs all the help it can get, but I did it for health reasons (menopause is no joke) and how it made me feel. That’s not to say, even though they all knew the reasons, that my family thought I’d lost it. (you can see how excited Paul is)

Thrilled!

All they could see was a life without bacon or hamburgers, no more steak on the grill or sausage sandwiches, and oh geez…no eggs! When I tried a two week trial vegan diet out for size on the entire family it lasted about ten days before my son came to me in tears. “Mom…(sniff, sniff) do you remember (tears, sniff, sniff) when you used to cook with meat?” True. True story.

What! No bacon??!
What! No bacon??!

 

So you have to come to grips with the fact that you live with a bunch of carnivores. How does that work if you don’t eat animal products and you do all the cooking, grocery shopping, etc.? One could say very carefully…but really it just takes creativity and extra hands when you have to deal with things you don’t want to deal with. Like cut up chicken for the gang and not touch it…you designate one of the carnivores.

Martinis are vegan!
Martinis are vegan!

 

Meals are planned (most of the time) so everyone can have what they like and I am not driven absolutely mad by cooking like a crazy diner chef. Things like mexican style spicy hamburger alongside a pan of black beans made with the same ingredients minus the obvious. Or Jerk chicken…again substituting beans for the bird stuff but using all the same ingredients in both.

Tyler eats vegan
Even Tyler likes vegan.

 

There are times that the whole family eats vegan. Do they always know it? No. Too many things are pretty good replicas so there’s no need to spill the beans (so to speak). Once I committed to this I found some great resources with recipes that work for all of us.

Samosa Style Potatoes
Samosa Style Potatoes

 

Let me share some. Maybe you’ll give it a try…

My absolute favorite and go to recipes are from  Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Another go to book, especially if time is tight, is from the Minimalist Baker (they also have a fabulous blog)

Minimalist Baker’s Everyday Cooking: 101 Entirely Plant-based, Mostly Gluten-Free, Easy and Delicious Recipes

Again great, easy recipes that pride themselves on being able to be done quick!

Third, but equally as good, is Vegan Richa’s Indian Kitchen: Traditional and Creative Recipes for the Home Cook

Now we happen to LOVE Indian cuisine and this gal translates all your favorites into vegan yumminess. I have this on my IPad because I cook from it so often.

There are many more that I’ve come to love and rely on. Next time let’s talk about baking. Sweet stuff…everybody’s favorite!

If you try any of these let me know what you think!

 

Until next time,

Susan

 

National Organization Month: What are you doing?

National Organization Month and what are you doing to re-organize your home, life, and studio?

I am an avid cook so drawers that are completely unusable and crazy messy drive me crazy! So the first place I start with organization is in my kitchen. This baking drawer was such a mess I didn’t realize I had purchased several identical items! Now it’s labeled and things that go together are side by side.

Kitchen Baking Drawer

I wish I had a before picture of this. You wouldn’t have known even what this area was for. AND I threw out spices from the Jurassic period! Oy! Now it’s a pleasure to open this space!

Spices Galore

You couldn’t even tell what this area was for before I started! Plus I threw out spices from the turn of the century! Now it’s a pleasure to open this cupboard.

Bread Baking Station

How many crumbs can there really be in any one spot? This is my bread baking area…yes there are two bread machines. As a side note I bake all of our bread products from scratch. No more preservatives or hidden GMO for us! May sound crazy but it has solved a couple of health issues we had going on. AND it tastes delicious this way!

But..back to organization! With this many things on one counter area it easily gets out of whack. This is how it’s supposed to be!

Next organization project? Besides the entire house? Pieces of the studio…stay tuned!

Until next time,

Susan

P.S. Please hop over to my collaborative blog for some other organization tips from the studios of the girls!!

Raw Beet, Cabbage, and Kale Detox Salad

Fun beet, cabbage, and kale salad.

A friend of mine posted about finding this recipe and it looked yummy. It’s from a website called FedandFit.com which also has other great recipes mostly slanted towards the paleo lifestyle. But I also found some great vegan ideas there.

Beet, Cabbage, and Kale Detox Salad

 Here’s the direct link to the recipe: Beet, Cabbage, and Kale Detox Salad

Give it a try…it was yummy!

signature2chef

Summer Indulgence…

Food!

Indulging in summer strawberries and whipped cream. Real whipping cream and fresh strawberries.

Fresh whipped cream

Yum…yum…

Strawberries and whip

The absolute best!

signature2chef