The Start of The Journey…
Sep 24 2011 byToday marks 2 weeks in which the whole family has been eating a strictly planet based diet. It’s been a interesting 2 weeks. Here’s what I’ve learned.
1. Being vegan does NOT mean you eat healthy. I’m frustrated almost daily by the lack of healthy vegan recipes that are available. Grocery shopping is not pretty. Milk in some form or another is in almost all products and those that are ‘vegan’ are filled with artificial crap.
2. Be honest with your kids. Cliff and I sat down with both Caleb and Keegan and explained why it was that we decided to eat only planet based foods now. While they are only 5 and 6 they still understood when we told them that eating meat from animals as well as milk and eggs isn’t good for our bodies and can make us sick when we are older. For being 2 VERY picky eaters they have both been very open to trying all the new things we are eating and they are the first ones to ask if something is vegan or not before putting it in their mouths.
3. Just because you don’t eat meat doesn’t mean you stop liking the way it tastes. Cliff, the ultimate meat fan, has been so supportive in this new lifestyle. I know each night when we sit down for dinner that he’d rather there be a steak in front of him instead of a quinoa loaf. That’s not to say he isn’t liking the meals, just that he’d rather it still be meat. Although we’ve both taken the time to educate ourselves as much as possible about the effects of animal protein on our bodies and while we both like the taste of meat, neither of us will ever put a bite of it in our mouths again.
4. The beginning of a journey is usually the hardest and this is no exception. Between the lack of healthy vegan recipes and the limits imposed by my family of picky eaters I have yet to stock pile a bunch of go to recipes. I also haven’t found my stride. Each night it still takes me a good 30 minutes to prepare dinner. When we were eating clean I could get dinner on the table in 15 minutes and some night, when I had no time, I could throw together a grilled cheese and be done. Not anymore. My goal for the next 2 weeks is to find some easy, quick and tasty meals that I can throw together in 15 minutes or less.
5. I LOVE BEING VEGAN! I’ve never had issues with my skin but now it’s practically glowing. I wake up with more energy. I’m not constantly hungry throughout the day and I feel lighter after eating. The changes in my husband have been just as great. He’s lost a bunch of weight, he’s in a better mood, has more energy and stressful situations seem not to bother him anymore.
While the last 2 weeks have been hard and a lot of work – I wouldn’t change it for the world. I know as time goes on that it will get easier. I’ll discover my recipes and things will start to get easier and quicker. Now I’m off to have a great breakfast, have fun with my kids and celebrate 7 wonderful years being married to my soulmate.
I just found your blog and I must say that it’s great to read someone else’s story. My husband and I decided to go vegetarian [and are moving towards vegan now] because of the health benefits. We’ve been vegetarians for 6 years now and I will tell you that after 2 or 3 your body wont even crave meat. The first year is the hardest but after that it’s a great experience and adventure of new foods and recipes. I cannot believe all of the foods we missed out on before changing our eating habits! Good luck on your journey and stay strong :)
I’ve never been much of a meat eater so giving up meat (and dairy) wasn’t a problem for me. I never experienced any cravings for it. My husband did for about the first month and then it passed and he’s not had a problem since. I’m amazed at how wonderful and flavorful the food is that we eat now. We also ate delicious food but the flavors that we get now are beyond fantastic. I was never a big hamburger person since mostly all it tasted like was meat but now I can’t stop making all sorts of different bean, nut, rice and veggie burgers. You can add so many great spices and textures and no meat burger can compete. Switching to a vegan diet has been the best thing for us and we’ve never had a second in which we second guessed ourselves. We can tell our health has improved and we feel great.
Good luck moving towards a vegan diet. We have plenty of great tasting recipes to help make the transition easy. :)
~Sarah
THANK YOU for posting this! It’s good to know that I’m not alone in trying to find a good base of recipes to use. Most days I get really down when it comes to getting lunch or dinner prepared. I could whip up some really fast and tasty meals……if I were still cooking the standard american way. But I just can’t seem to find my niche with the vegan meals. Dinner seems to take at least an hour to prepare – and then it might not even taste very good. What’s most frustrating are the recipes out there that get really high reviews and then taste horrible when you make them.
No one in my family is hooked on meat – so that’s not a problem. It’s just saddening that mealtime is such a chore when it used to be a thing of pride and fun times.
That’s not to say that I’m giving up – there’s no turning back. It just doesn’t make sense to go back to a lifestyle that produces disease and lower quality of life. I guess that’s my main consolation is that I’m doing good in cooking this way.
I’m finally getting a few recipes that I know are crowd pleasers (for me, my husband and three kids), and that’s been a boost.
I’m really glad that I found your blog and am really excited to browse through it and try some of the recipes. Thanks again for putting this out there!
- Janna
(Work at home, homeschooling mom)
Hi Janna,
Hello from one homeschooling mom to another!
When we first switched to eating only a plant based diet there were many times I was stressed about what to make for lunch and dinner. I had like 2 recipes that everyone liked and while they were healthy they weren’t something I wanted to serve for dinner every night. It took about a month before I started to figure things out.
I had MANY MANY recipe failures during that first month. Now that I’ve found my footing I can’t believe I ever struggled. Our favorite meals are ‘burgers’ and fries. My kids love my crunch burger recipe and the black bean pumpkin burger which they call the chippie burger because it has crushed tortilla chips in it. We do fried rice a lot as well as quesadillas, tacos and pizza.
For the kids lunches they usually have tortilla soup, spicy rice (it’s a mix of quinoa, corn and a slightly spicy teriyaki sauce), pizza ‘meatballs’ or pasta with creamy garlic sauce.
Hang in there! It will get easier but it takes a little time to find the things that you like and then customize them for your family. Anytime you need help or need an idea please feel free to email me.
~Sarah
Thanks so much for the encouragement!
Fried rice, bean burgers, veggie wraps and beans and rice used to be our mainstays, but I think we just got tired of them for a while. Though, I’ve really been craving some good Thai fried rice lately, so we might just be coming back around, lol! Your coconut Thai sauce really caught my eye and I can’t wait to try it with some fresh rolls. :) Ooh and that creamy garlic sauce looks so good.
You have a beautiful family, btw. :)
Thanks Janna! My family is my heart and soul and I’m lucky enough to be able to spend each and every day with them. It’s one of the reasons my husband and I decided to homeschool. He owns his own business and works for home each day and we absolutely love that we can enjoy watching our kids grow and learn each day.
We get into eating ruts as well. While I don’t think I personally could ever get enough bean burgers, my husband and kids don’t always feel the same way! Recently we decided to start “Freaky Fridays”. We have breakfast for dinner on Friday nights and the kids just love it. I’ll make banana pancakes with a side of hash browns and sometimes we all just have cereal! Their newest dinner time favorite is pizza donuts. They also like tortilla soup – what soup with tortilla chips in it isn’t delicious!
The creamy garlic sauce is simply divine – definitely give it a try. I’ll also be posting a recipe for a peanut pad thai pasta real soon that you might like.
I always tend to get food blahs at the end of each season and once the next season starts and new veggies and fruits are available suddenly everything is exciting once again.
I hope you find some new family favorites and make sure to let us know what you find!
~Sarah
Congratulations on making the jump to being plant based! I’m so excited for you! It’s gets easier and easier as time goes on and you gather your collection of go-to recipes. I tend to do a lot of prep work on the weekend and then during the week I can get dinner on the table in 30-minutes. It takes planning. Gone are the days that I can think, “Hmmmm, what should I cook for dinner?” while driving home from work. I look forward to following your journey and seeing all the yummy vegan recipes you will be sharing! =)
-Bonnie
Hi Bonnie,
It took about 3-4 weeks to get into a groove. Like you, I no longer worry about ‘what to make’ for dinner. Eating this way is as easy as any other way of eating. In fact, it’s even easier to eat this way knowing that it makes us feel so good and our bodies are getting the nutrients that they need. I hope you’ve enjoyed some of our recipes as much as we do making them!
~Sarah