First Night Eating Our New Way

Our first night on our plant based whole foods diet was a bit like being stranded on a deserted island.  We didn't know where to turn.  Scrounging through the pantry we found some oatmeal which we promptly ate for dinner.  It was the only thing we had that was plant based and a whole food and it got us through the first night.  Everything else in our pantry or fridge was processed, meat, or cheese.  Shawn made oatmeal with water - which I've always disliked.  Still do.  I don't think I really ate dinner that first night.

Breakfast after we our diet change includes more oatmeal. 

Oatmeal turns out to be a good example of the little, yet big, changes we've made.  Growing up, I always loved the little packets of Apple Cinnamon and Maple and Brown Sugar oatmeal.  It was an adjustment to learn how to make GOOD oatmeal from scratch.  Now, I use almond, walnut, or banana milk instead of dairy; and my current favorite oatmeal is homemade pumpkin oatmeal with grape nuts sprinkled on top.  Now, I use dates for sweetener, and add in flax.  All those extra nutrients and flavor boosts were missing in my little packets of oatmeal.  Now I don't feel deprived not eating the little packets, I'm quite satisfied - and privately think I was a bit deprived before.

BTW, We've tried the steel oats, etc, and they are okay.  But for the most part we just stick to regular oats.  It's just easier and cheaper to get Quaker Oats in bulk at Sam's.  When we're on an oatmeal kick (we aren't right now), I will make a big bowl of oatmeal in the morning and everybody helps themselves.  Leftovers make great snacks or breakfast the next day.

Some time I'll post my formula for making oatmeal on this blog.  In the meantime, be encouraged that plant based whole foods eating does not mean eating bland boring foods day after day.  It means learning about a variety of new delicious foods.

Breakfast before our diet change breakfast would often be quite sugary.  

Track What You Eat

I cheat.  Instead of filling out a weekly menu ahead of time, I record what we eat afterwards.  It's fast, easy, and it gives me information for the future.  Recording information afterward seems to be a system that works well for me.  No stressing or worrying about the changes that inevitably come up.  

Fruit trays make a great party tray.  This is what we served at the park.

The record below is a sheet from Sept 11, 2011 which was about a month after our diet changed.  At that time, I was still making Shawn's lunches and snacks for work, and that was my primary concern in filling out this form - what I was feeding him for his healing.  The fruit and veggies in the park was the first party we hosted with our new diet, and it all went well.

	Sun	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat
Breakfast
Lunch		salad	spaghetti, honeydew	salad	tomato lentil stew leftover
Snack	fruit and veggies at park		plum		carrots (Shawn likes them, not me)
Dinner	smoothies	sweet potato fries and salad	sweet and sour veggies with rice	tomato lentil stew	S -oatmeal Us- pigs in a blanket	Baked oven fries cooked carrots
Dessert

This week, I've started a menu log to track what I'm REALLY eating.  I'm not losing the weight I want, and I suspect it's the desserts and not enough exercise.  Still, if I have to record those two Oreos maybe I won't eat them.  Here's a blank "Menu Log" form in case you want to cut and paste.

	Sun	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat
Breakfast
Lunch
Snack
Dinner
Dessert

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks

Books on healthy eating often show sample menus lined out you for a few weeks.  This would be real handy if my husband or kids would eat any of the stuff on the lists.  Half the things listed I didn't know how to make or sometimes even what they were.  Quinoa, anyone?  The list below can give you an idea of the kinds of things that have worked for our family, but what we eat varies depending on our mood and what's in the fridge.

This morning I had leftover pizza, a chocolate-banana muffin, and a cup of tea for breakfast.

Dr. John McDougall teaches that there are only a half dozen main meals people tend to eat over and over.  Once you identify your new favorites you will automatically rotate these meals.  It took us some time, but our new favorites look a lot like our old favorites: spaghetti, burritos, pizza, burgers.  Come to think of it - yesterday we had burritos for dinner, and the night before we had pizza.  Concentrate on making your comfort foods as nutritious and yummy as possible, and don't worry about all the exotic recipes you'll find unless you are feeling adventurous.

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Treats
Smoothies with  frozen banana, fresh or frozen fruit, nut milk or juice, touch of raw sugar, greens, and flax Fruit in season fruit, bananas, apples,  grapefruit, juice, orange dream drink Bread homemade bread, regular toast, cinnamon bread, cinnamon rolls, french toast, pancakes (regular, cranberry, banana oat, blueberry), muffins (banana- chocolate chip, blueberry, applesauce, cranberry) , bagels (whole wheat, cinnamon, pumpkin, raisin, any homemade), irish soda bread Cereal hot: oatmeal, brown rice, quinoa, couscous, barley.  cold: cheerios, puffed wheat/rice, granola, cereal bars, breakfast cookies  Yogurt coconut brand, soy based, almond based, and homemade  hot tea with soy creamer biscuits and gravy (vegan) roasted potatoes hash browns  scrambled tofu favorite leftovers	Left Overs soups, mex, italian, anything in fridge Potatoes baked, oven baked, fries, sweet fries with maple syrup (Red, Yukon Gold, Sweet potatoes) Salad green, pasta, fruit, taco Sandwich pb & j, pita pocket, grilled fake cheese, non blt, leftover burger Soup miso noodle, 13 bean, minestrone,  cajun black eyed peas, chili, cream of: mushroom, potato, broccoli Wasa, crackers, with.. Pb, hummus, ranch, applesauce, breadsticks, corn chips and salsa, hummus, or white bean dip Noodles - lo mein, japanese, miso noodle soup, stir fry, etc To Go: nuts in one container, dried cereal, dried fruit in others, homemade bread rolls, salad in a bowl, fresh fruit one of my favorite lunchess is spinach and “cheese” quesadillas (Tofutti vegan cream cheese)	Italian marinara, alfredo, spinach or veg lasagna, breadsticks, pizza Mexican burritos, quesadillas, tacos, enchiladas, tostadas, taco salad, mex lasagna, enchilada casserole Soup miso noodle, 13 bean, minestrone,  cajun black eyed peas, chili, cream of: mushroom, potato, broccoli American black bean burgers, mac n’ peas, pigs in blanket, sloppy joes, red beans and rice Chinese stir fry, sweet and sour, moo sho Potatoes baked, mashed, oven, fries using Sweet, Red or Yukon Gold potatoes In Season Veggie especially corn on the cob Good Combos: soup and breadsticks salad and potato     either followed with fruit smoothie rotate dinners featuring pasta, beans/rice, potatoes	Smoothies peach, chocolate cherry, mango, strawberry, endless possibilities Fruit fresh, frozen, dried, applesauce, cobbler, muffins, breads, cereal bars Milk flavors: chocolate, vanilla, banana, eggnog, chocolate mint  bases: soy, rice, almond, oat, banana  Cookies and Bars brownies, gingerbread, monkey bars, banana, cereal bars, granola, chocolate chip, breakfast bars, energy bars Candy carmel corn, carmel apples, fudge Pudding chocolate mousse, rice pudding, bread pudding, chocolate avocado Pie fruit, chocolate mouse, chocolate lace cheesecake  Cake chocolate sheet, red velvet, white, carrot, spice, chocolate beet Salty popcorn, nuts, corn chips

Craving something in particular?  Google for it using "vegan recipe" as part of the tag.  That's how I found a recipe for carmel dip for my apples.  BTW, mac and cheese and pigs-in-a-blanket were old favorites that have not translated so well.  We've found recipes that are acceptable, and we'll enjoy them occasionally, but not as often as we did before our diet change.  However, we've found life goes on without blue box mac and cheese (which now tastes very salty and kinda fake to us).

Over time, I'll post some of our family favorites on this blog.

What Do You Eat?

One of the first things pioneers needed to think about before heading west was what to pack in their conestoga wagon.  Provisions for their new life would have been a primary concern, and they stocked up on a lot of plant based whole foods.  We can be sure they didn't pack twinkies or doritoes.

When people hear about our venture into a new world of food, one of the first questions people tend to ask is "what do we eat?"  The short answer is veggies, fruits, whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds.  What this brings to mind for a lot of folks is some poor schlump gnawing on a carrot.  Not a pretty picture in my mind since I'm not fond of plain raw carrots!

I bet this cat doesn't like plain carrots anymore than I do.

A better answer to "what do we eat" might be: many of the same things we ate before - pizza, burritos, spaghetti, burgers...I just make them with plant based ingredients.  It's pretty hard to comprehend that these things can actually taste GOOD without meat and cheese, but I'd have to say our family is much more enthusiastic about our food now before our diet changes.  If you think about it ground beef and cheese do get a little repetitive.  Each dish varies so much with different veggies, beans, grains, and nut sauces.  An added bonus is the increased color on our plates.