A Complete Daily Dozen

As I've said several times, my health focus for 2024 is to eat more vegetables. I've been really interested in Dr. David Greger's research and I *love* his books: "How Not To Die", "How Not To Diet", and now I'm listening to the audiobook of "How Not To Age". If I was a faster reader, I'd love to read them and take notes--but they are *very* long books. "How Not To Age" is over 24 hours on audiobook! They are fascinating, though, and loaded with research.

Dr. Greger has a list called the "Daily Dozen", which is a list of the ideal things to include in your diet each day. I love that he says it's an aspirational list and not to overthink it. (You know I'm a total overthinker.) I use it as a guide to push me in the right direction, but I don't expect to check off the entire list every day. Also, the list is meant to be the minimum intake. It doesn't mean that you shouldn't eat beyond what's on the list.

(The app is free and there aren't any ads or subscriptions or anything. Dr. Greger's work is non-profit because he doesn't have a hidden agenda--just a desire to learn and share facts from tons of research.)

On Saturday, I was so ready to get out of the house. Jerry and I went to Ann Arbor for Salvation Army, Trader Joe's, and Whole Foods. We don't have TJ's or WF near us, so it's kind of an event to go, hahaha. We bought the produce we'd need for the week as well as some odd and hard-to-find or unique ingredients.

Yesterday, I realized that I got in the whole Daily Dozen! I took pictures (sometimes I post pictures of memorable food in a private Instagram account) so I thought I'd share the day's eats on this post. First, here is the checklist (when you tap on each item in the app, it gives more specific info). I didn't log this into a calorie counting app, but a quick guesstimate for the day is about 1600 calories.

Breakfast was rolled oats (uncooked, because they just sounded better that way), blueberries, banana, flaxseed, chia seeds, hemp seeds, and soy milk. I usually eat Grape Nuts instead of oats, but since the oats are healthier, I'm going to try to have them more often. [As far as the list, this counted as whole grains, berries, another fruit, and flaxseed]

My latest obsession has been cucumbers with hummus--I cannot get enough! This counted as an "other" vegetable and two servings of beans.

Jerry bought me a few Asian pears that he'd found and this was the last one. Usually I eat fruit like apples and pears with the skin, but Asian pears have a tougher skin so I peel them. This counted as an "other" fruit.

Dinner was SO good! Ethiopian Collard Greens & Beans, from the "How Not To Diet" cookbook, served over red quinoa. Jerry and I both loved this. On the Daily Dozen, this checked off beans, whole grains, cruciferous vegetables, one "other" vegetable, and a ton of spices. I also had a small salad with it, which counted for my leafy greens.

These are all the spices that were in the dish above.

In the evening, I still needed one more fruit and nuts. Usually I have pistachios and an apple, but I was kind of full from dinner, so I had a few dates with almond butter.

My B12 supplement

I got in lots of water (recommended is six 12-oz glasses and I definitely reached that). This is the tumbler that Ava, Eli's girlfriend, gave me for Christmas. It makes me feel good <3

As far as exercise, I didn't count minutes (because that would be overthinking for me)--I just did my run in the morning and went for a walk later.

I really like the Daily Dozen app; it definitely helps me to think about my choices before I eat. And I've loved adding more vegetables where I can. Jerry has been enjoying it, too. He started a HIIT (high-intensity interval training) class yesterday. He loves HIIT and likes the structure of going to a class rather than doing it on his own. When he got home, he said that it was extremely humbling and it made him really want to be healthier, especially with his diet. Having him on board helps a lot!

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Two Weeks of Whole Foods

I'm still struggling with things to write about. I've been wanting to put together a post of the dinners Jerry and I have been eating lately but I was hoping to wait until I have more photos. I'm starting to forget what some of these recipes even were, so I'll just go ahead and post them.

The main goal (for our two-week challenge) was to eat more vegetables, but it kind of turned into eating mainly whole foods. Both of us really loved doing this! It was interesting to see how much better we felt--physically and mentally--when eating foods our bodies like. And that was only two weeks!

I made most of the recipes from the How Not To Die and How Not To Diet cookbooks. I don't think there were any that we didn't like; both of those cookbooks have been awesome. Keep in mind that I am not-even-a-little-bit-good at food photography, so my pictures aren't exactly appealing, hahaha. There were actually a few that I'm not even going to post because it will make people never want to try things like black lentils and black bean soup!

Anyway, here are some of the ways we got more vegetables in...

Sweet Potato Waffles (I discovered that I use far less syrup if I put it in a little ramekin and dip the waffles as I eat rather than pouring it on top; I only used half of what is pictured)

I didn't mean to include this, but I definitely ate all of these Asian pears before they went bad! Haha. 

Sweet Potato Taco Bowl (brown rice, sweet potatoes, corn, black beans, seasoning)

Millet "Risotto" with mushrooms, spinach, and white beans (we didn't like this dish only because we didn't like the flavor of the millet itself; this would be good with a different grain)

I forget what this was called--I think it was some sort of stew--but it had barley, mushrooms, peppers, onions, carrots, and chickpeas.

Lentil & Quinoa Chili

I actually forget what this was, but it reminded me of a broccoli/cheese/rice casserole. It was good!

Sweet Potato Shawarma Bowl (quinoa with seasoned sweet potatoes and cauliflower; topped with lettuce, onions, cucumbers, and a homemade tahini dressing.

Stew with butternut squash, red beans, corn, tomatoes, peppers, and onions. There is quinoa under there, too ;)

This was kind of our "junk food" dinner--tofu in a sriracha marinade and baked, along with baby potatoes with "chili cheese" seasoning. 

Again, I forget what this was called. But it had sweet potatoes, cauliflower, peas, peppers, and raisins (it sounded odd to me with the raisins, which is why I picked it from the book). I don't remember what grain was under there, but it was probably brown rice. This was really good!

Well, that was the start of Jerry's and my year of being grown-ups and eating our veggies. I had really hoped that this challenge would help Jerry to like vegetables more, and he discovered that he does like sweet potatoes, mushrooms, and cauliflower (when prepared certain ways). He even admitted the cucumber in the shawarma bowls actually worked well. He has never liked cucumbers because he said that they overpower everything else and all you can taste is cucumber. I happen to love them. I think I'll make some hummus today and have cucumbers and hummus for a snack--that sounds delicious.

Now, I'm going to write up a meal plan for the week. I used to hate meal planning, but this vegetable challenge kind of made me excited to meal plan again. I'm going to try kale again this week--it's been YEARS since I tried it--and I'm hoping I'll like it better this time around. When cooking with greens, I usually go for spinach or collard greens. Yesterday, Jerry and I decided to do another two weeks of eating (mostly) whole foods. We both felt gross from eating poorly after eating really well for two weeks.

Anyway, if you have a favorite recipe that uses lots of vegetables, please share!

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How To Prepare Tofu (notes to Noah)

This is kind of an odd post because it's actually directed to Noah (and my "voice" in the post is written toward him) but I thought maybe someone who is new to tofu, or just interested in trying tofu, might find it helpful.

I remember very specifically a time that made me feel really damn GOOD about being a mother. I think that parents probably question themselves all the time about whether they're doing a good job and I think we're probably very hard on ourselves sometimes. I'm extremely critical of myself (something I'm always trying to work on). But there was one moment that I remember so well; it made me feel better as a mom than I've ever felt!

It was the night before my mom and I were going to take Noah and Eli to Belle Isle in Detroit to run a 5K. The kids were excited and I told them to pick out the clothes they wanted to run in the next morning. Eli, out of nowhere, said, "I want to make a shirt that says 'Runs for Cookies is my mom'." I have no idea where that came from, I swear.

It was too late for him to make a shirt, but my heart just melted. He was proud of *me*?! He was *that* proud that I was his mom?! I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I decided to get out of bed, pull out what crafting supplies I had, and make Eli a shirt. It turned out pretty good, all things considered! In any other circumstance, I'd have been really embarrassed about a shirt that is basically saying I'm a big deal; but I would have worn anything Eli'd asked me to that day. He loved the shirt and was proud to wear it. (And yes, I still have it.)

I recently had another moment where I thought with pleasant surprise, "Really? Me?!" as a mother. I'd asked Noah to write a Christmas wish list and most of the things on there were tools that he'll need for working on cars. Toward the bottom, though, he'd written that he wanted me to make him a cookbook of his favorite recipes that I've been making all these years. And then he specifically asked for instructions on making tofu.

I never knew that Noah thought anything special about the dinners I cook. I certainly never expected him to ask for a book of the recipes! One of the things I wish I'd done more of is teach the kids about cooking. I've had them help me cook lots of times, but I never really explained things the way I wish I would have--like what types of spices to use for different cuisines, for example.

So, I wanted to make this little cookbook for him. Not necessarily for Christmas, but because he wants to have the foods he loved when living here. (He knows he can always come home for food--actually, I just made him waffles this morning when he came by--but I like that he wanted to learn to cook for himself.)

I won't post the whole thing here, but since tofu can be intimidating if you're never made it, I figured this would be a good part to post. I'm obviously not an expert at making tofu--I've only been making it for a year and a half--but I do make it a LOT because I love it. I've experimented with lots of different ways of making tofu, but these are what I've found work best.

So, here is what I wrote for Noah (about tofu). I don't have actual recipes posted here; just the ways of preparing tofu. Maybe I'll put together a post of a few favorite recipes another day. (You can download the PDF for the tofu prep here--it's the exact same instructions as below.)

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How To Prepare Tofu (in various ways)

BEFORE MEAL PREP:

I like to buy the extra-firm tofu, which you can find in the refrigerated “healthy” section of the store. First, either put it in the freezer (freezing it and then thawing it gives it a more “meat-like” texture) or just open the package. It will have a lot of liquid in it, so drain off the liquid and then put it in the tofu press that I bought you.

Press the tofu (like I showed you) for a couple of hours to get out most of the liquid. Then cut it in the shape you want (I like to do slices or cubes, or you could even tear it with your fingers into “nuggets”.)

You will almost always want to marinate your tofu before using it, but it’s not completely necessary. 

TO MARINATE:

When marinating, always try to do it the night before you plan to cook it (or at least in the morning). You want it marinating long enough to absorb the flavors of the marinade.

In a large reusable ziploc bag, combine all of the marinade ingredients. Zip the bag shut and shake it well. Then add the tofu and gently turn the bag over a few times to let all of the tofu get some marinade. Put it in the fridge overnight (give it a turn every once in a while if you want).

After marinating, move on to cooking methods...

FOR “CHICKEN-LIKE” OVEN-BAKED TOFU:

Make sure the marinade you make has oil in it (the oil makes the tofu more firm and crispy; if there is no oil, it’s hard to get a crispy texture on the outside). Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and then spread the marinated tofu across the paper. Bake at 350 F for between 30-50 minutes. That’s a huge time span, I know, but it largely depends on how the tofu is cut (size and shape). Check it after 30 minutes and it will likely still be soft. Then check it every 5-10 minutes until it’s firmed up how you want it. It will CONTINUE to firm up a little as it cools, so take it out before the texture gets too tough.

FOR BREADED OVEN-BAKED TOFU:

Prepare the tofu just like you did above, but before you put it in the oven, prepare the breading. Get out 3 bowls and in them, combine:

Bowl 1: Flour (about ¼ cup)

Bowl 2: Milk (I like soy milk; about ½ cup) + ½ tsp. vinegar (which will curdle the milk; don’t let that alarm you)

Bowl 3: Panko bread crumbs (about ¾ cup) + seasonings you like (remember that the marinade was probably salted, so make sure you keep that in mind when you add salt to the seasonings).

Dip each piece of tofu into the flour to lightly coat the sides. Then dip it into the milk. And then, roll it in the panko + seasoning mixture. (If you want it super crispy, do a second dip in the milk and a second roll in the panko.)  Spray with cooking spray (optional; it just makes the breading crispier).

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Spread the tofu around in a single layer, then bake at 375 F for about 30-50 minutes (it depends on the size of your pieces. Just lightly press a spoon or spatula on a piece of tofu to feel how firm it is, then take it out when the firmness is just slightly softer than you want (because it firms a little as it cools).

PAN-FRIED BREADED TOFU:

Prepare the tofu just like for the oven baked tofu, but don’t prepare a baking sheet. Instead, heat a good layer of oil on the bottom of a pan. Heat the pan over med-high heat, then place the tofu in a single layer and fry for a few minutes. Turn the tofu and cook the other side (or if there are cubes, just keep flipping them around, gently). Add more oil if it becomes dry. Cook until the tofu is crispy on all sides and the firmness is how you like it. You will probably have to turn the heat down once the outsides are crisp—don’t let it burn.

TO USE TOFU IN PLACE OF GROUND MEAT:

Depending on what you’re making, you don’t need to press this tofu very much. If you’re going to leave it as-is (meaning no prepping/seasoning beforehand) then just squeeze excess water over the sink. Then crumble the block of tofu into a bowl so that it’s broken up like ground meat. Then just add it to your dish. This method is good for things like spaghetti, chili, etc.

If you want it to be drier (but seasoned), you can mix together in a bowl:

2 Tbsp. tamari (the “good” soy sauce)
1 tsp. kitchen bouquet (optional, for color)
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoons smoked paprika (if you don’t have this, it’s okay to leave it out; it’s different than regular paprika)
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
1 block extra-firm tofu (14-16 oz) (gently pressed)

Crumble the tofu into the bowl with all the seasonings. Then bake at 350 F for about 20-30 minutes, until it resembles ground meat. This is a good method when you’re not using a sauce or when you want to use it for tacos or something.

TO ADD TO SOUP, RICE, CURRY, ETC.

You don’t even have to really prep it. Just press it, then cut into cubes and add it directly to the sauce you want. Then let it simmer (it will soak up the liquid, which will flavor it). This way will result in much softer tofu. I love it like this in curry sauce!

TO USE IN PLACE OF SCRAMBLED EGGS:

To use it in place of eggs for fried rice, press it well (to remove any tofu flavor) and put it in clean water to rehydrate (soak the water back up so it’s soft). Crumble it into pieces into the fried rice. You can season the tofu to look and even taste like eggs with a spice blend that I make—I will give you some if you want). You can also use soft tofu or silken tofu (the kind that is in a box in our pantry). I like the silken tofu for a tofu scramble (potatoes, green peppers, onions, and scrambled tofu). With ketchup! ;) That's the kind that I've made for you before.

Here is the way that I prep tofu when I know *you’re* going to be eating it (usually in an Asian sauce, like orange sauce, with rice). Thaw a block of tofu from the freezer (I leave it on the counter for several hours; it takes a few days to thaw when it’s in the fridge). Press the block very well to remove the liquid. Combine this marinade in a bag: ¼ cup olive oil, 2 Tbsp. lemon juice, 2 Tbsp. water, 1 Tbsp. of my vegan bouillon seasoning, and about ¼ tsp. black pepper. Cut the tofu into bite-size pieces and toss gently in the marinade. The marinade will be absorbed quickly, but let it sit for several hours if you can. Then spread it on a baking sheet with parchment paper, bake at 375 F for about 35-45 minutes (until it’s almost as firm as chicken). Then just eat it as-is or stir it into whatever sauce you like. (You really like the orange sauce that I gave you the recipe for! And serve with rice.)

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Three Things Thursday: Veggies

I feel like the past couple of weeks I've been pretty zealous about getting vegetables into my diet. Remember when I first became vegan and *everything* seemed foreign to me? I had no clue what I was doing, but I had to learn fast. And once I started cooking with new ingredients, my eyes were opened to an enormous world of food prepared in ways I'd never tried.

Cooking became FUN again!

Eventually, I fell into a pretty good routine, although I still liked to cook new recipes. And now that my main goal is getting in more vegetables, I've gotten to that "Ohmygosh, I want to try *everything*!" phase. I bought the "How Not To Die" cookbook (as well as the "How Not To Diet" cookbook) and I've loved all of the recipes I've made so far. Soon, I'll do a whole post on what I've cooked.

I'm just so excited to have that fun attitude back. I actually really enjoy cooking; a couple of years ago, I never would have said that.

My focus now is making recipes with lots of veggies. So, I thought I'd write three things that have happened or habits I've made in respect to vegetables...

1. I eat a salad before every dinner.

This was taken from Dr. Gregor's list of 21 tweaks for weight loss (proven tidbits that have been show to elevate weight loss). One of them is to start each meal with a "negative calorie" food--he suggests a small salad or an apple--that is less than 100 calories. So, even though I'm not a huge salad person, I know I can handle two cups of greens. I just add some spring mix to a bowl and top with a little of a dressing that I made (again from his recipe).

The reason for this isn't just "to fill you up" so you eat less dinner. There are studies that show there are several benefits to doing this (it would take a lot to explain here, so I suggest reading the book How Not To Diet. There is even a difference in eating before the meal versus during the meal.

This has actually been really great! I enjoy the salad, which I never though I would--maybe because of its simplicity--and I feel like it completes the meal. This is a habit I think I'll continue beyond the two week challenge between Jerry and me.

2. I sit down at the table for my dinner meals.

This has always been SO hard for me, especially when I'm home alone. I want to sit in front of the tv. However, I realized that I was spending too much time trying to figure out what to watch rather than just eating. Also, having the salad *and* my meal seemed like too many dishes to eat at the coffee table. Instead, I sit down and eat my salad and then my meal. And most of the time, I'm too full to even finish the meal. (All the fiber and veggies are so filling!)

3. I have never found it so easy to NOT snack at night!

This is something I never expected to happen. I eat dinner pretty early--5:00 or so--and I always worry that I'm going to be ravenous by 7:00 or 8:00 and then I'll go digging for more food. However, because of the filling foods I've been preparing, snacks don't even really cross my mind. If I'm very hungry, I might have a single date or a couple of prunes.

Overall, I'm so glad that we're doing this experiment! It's MUCH cheaper than I thought it would be, even when I count the new spices that I got. A whole week's worth of produce was only $50.

My very favorite meal so far was a sweet potato shawarma bowl--sweet potatoes, cauliflower, shawarma seasonings, on top of quinoa, with toppings of onions, cucumber, and lettuce. Drizzled with an amazing tahini dressing. This BLEW MY MIND.

Not all mine! Just the bowl on the left. I then topped it with the good stuff :)

And last but not least, I have to mention the taste of all these recipes I've been cooking. Because what good is all that without it tasting good? I will say that probably 7 out of 9 or so recipes have been very good! There were only a couple that I didn't like (and one of them was very overcooked).

This has been such a refreshing experience. I feel happy and excited to be cooking again!

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Wednesday Weigh-In: Week 137

This has been quite the week, as far as my eating habits go! I wrote about the challenge that Jerry and I made for each other, but in a nutshell: I have to make recipes for dinner that I really want, but that I don't think Jerry will like because of the vegetables; and for his part, Jerry has to eat them and see if his tastebuds adapt to eating veggies he doesn't think he likes.

It sounds odd, right? I "have" to cook things that I really want? (Honestly, though, this is actually very hard for me; I feel super guilty making meals with ingredients--typically vegetables--that I know Jerry won't like.)  Jerry had said that he's tired of eating like a child (avoiding vegetables). He's always eaten what I make, but I have always tried to make things that I know he likes. Soooo, this was good for both of us.

We went grocery shopping together to pick out a bunch of vegetables, and it was actually kind of funny. I got so excited to put things in the cart that I don't normally buy--mushrooms, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, purple cabbage, and more. I looked through my vegan cookbooks for recipes that use a lot of the vegetables that Jerry's not into.

HE was actually very excited about this challenge as well--it was his idea! I've tried to make a good variety of food all week. It's no surprise that *I* have been loving it ;)  However, I did not expect Jerry to like it as much as he does; he even surprised himself. He was hesitant to try sweet potatoes, but he really liked them.

One of his most hated foods is cucumber, so I said I wouldn't make anything with cucumber. But I made a sweet potato shawarma bowl and cucumber was one of the toppings. I told him he could just skip that topping, but he insisted that he wanted to try to like cucumber. AND HE DID. He didn't like it when trying a piece on its own, but when it was mixed with all of the mediterranean food, he said it went together very well. (I kept raving about the whole bowl because it was soooo delicious.)

Since I've been trying to work Dr. Gregor's Daily Dozen into my diet for the most part, I've been eating almost all whole foods. So that's kind of what this challenge has turned into--eating whole foods for two weeks. It's been a week so far, and Jerry has already lost six pounds!

As far as my weight, well... I was really excited to see that the scale was actually moving down. On Monday, I was down about three pounds. On Monday night, we went to La Pita for Eli's birthday dinner. I think the last time I'd gone out to eat was when Jerry and I went to Rockford, IL last March! And you know that I *love* La Pita.

Eating vegan at a Lebanese/mediterranean restaurant is super easy--so many options. However, since I want to eat whole foods and get my weight back down, I skipped the pita bread and garlic sauce. I didn't want to eat more than I would normally eat at home. So, I got herb roasted potatoes and a side of hummus. Their hummus is mind-blowing, so I knew I wanted that; I just needed something to dip in it, haha. They were really good! And I felt good about what I'd eaten. (I actually ate a small salad at home before we left so that I would get in my leafy greens.)

La Pita has jumped on board with extra plant-based options, including Impossible "meat" substitutions! Jerry was thrilled to see that. So, he got kafta made with the Impossible "meat" instead of beef. I tasted a bite of it and it was *really* good--I didn't expect that at all. Jerry loved it, to say the least.

On the way home, we had to stop and get some frozen blueberries (I eat them with breakfast every morning and we were out). While walking through the store, I saw a Lindt chocolate bar made with Oat Milk and I just couldn't resist--I wanted to try it so badly! Since I had been eating so well all day, I figured Jerry and I could share the chocolate. (It was AMAZING. If you're vegan or plant-based, and you don't like dark chocolate, give it a try.)

Anyway, the whole point is, my weight was back up the next morning--by three pounds! I know it's not because of excess calories, so it's likely water weight. I was just hoping it would have come off before my weigh-in. Unfortunately, it did not.

It's still down from last week's 144.4, but I had been excited when I was seeing so much progress! Anyway, I'm still doing good with everything--I've eaten about 95% whole foods this week and it makes a huge difference in how I feel. I really love eating so many vegetables, and I even get excited about cooking. Jerry likes trying all the new foods, so he wants to continue to do it. It's been a fun experiment! Jerry wants to start writing on Tuesdays again, so maybe he'll write about this next week.

The year is off to a pretty decent start so far--let's hope it continues! ;)

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Goals for 2024

I've always written a post about goals for the new year on the first of the year, but time totally got away from me last month. (I don't like saying "New Year's Resolutions" because it sounds corny, but that's essentially what I do every January.) I honestly wasn't even sure what goals I was going to focus on this year. I like to try to learn from each year--what worked, what didn't, why it didn't, etc.

First, here is a look at how I did on last year's goals...

1. Get my weight back into my maintenance range of 125-135.

Haha! I'm in the same boat this year. I did, in fact, get back into my maintenance range and was at about 130 pounds for a long time until a few months ago--I was so sure I'd figured out how to stay there. But just like the end of 2022, I gained about 15 pounds. I've thought about changing my maintenance range, but I just don't feel physically comfortable when my weight gets to the upper 130's. I'm curious how things will go this year.

2. Run 500 miles (cumulative, of course).

How did I forget about this one?! I just looked at last year's post and this was written on there. I honestly do not remember writing it. Needless to say, I did not reach this goal--I only ran about 78 miles. However, I did start a daily running habit and I'm currently on a streak of 126 days. I only run a lap around my block (0.4 miles), but my aim was to build a daily habit. Even though I didn't hit 500 miles (or even 20% of that, haha), I'm very happy with the habit I've developed.

3. Complete one crafting project per month.

I may or may not have completed this. I do a lot of crafting, and I've been especially into sewing this year. I didn't keep track of what I was doing through the year, so I'm not sure if I hit this goal.

4. Expand my vocabulary.

I started this one by learning one new word each week, but I found myself completely forgetting about it. So, I decided to start learning Spanish on Duolingo instead. I do at least one lesson a day, and I'm on day 221 right now. It's kind of crazy when I think of how much I've learned in such a short time!

Despite not really hitting those goals last year, I am not even the slightest bit upset about it. The year 2023 was a crazy year and not in a good way. Just surviving was good enough for me ;)

I've decided to try a different approach with goals this year. I'm only going to have ONE goal and I'm going to put my focus on that one goal instead of several. I think having a solitary goal will make me more likely to achieve it. I'm still going to work on other things, as I always am, but I've narrowed down my list to just one.

Eat more vegetables.

So simple! Right? I've been vegan for almost two years now and my diet has gotten so much healthier. However, I still don't eat the recommended amount of vegetables each day. The more I learn about how diet affects health, the more I want to eat healthy. And vegetables are the healthiest food there is!

It's kind of funny--the one vegetable that my entire family likes is Brussels sprouts!

I know that the word "more" isn't specific, but I wrote it that way on purpose. I don't want to put a number on it because I don't want to measure out vegetables or have to hit specific numbers for variety or anything like that.

I've *really* liked reading and listening to "How Not To Die" by Dr. Michael Greger. He is an expert on nutrition and passionate about using food to prevent and even cure disease. Yes, those "experts" are a dime a dozen these days, but one thing that makes him stand out from the rest: He so badly wants to teach people about using food as nutrition that he donates every cent from his book sales and business to charity. His website is non-profit. He doesn't have any sponsors or ads on his site or anything that would suggest a hidden agenda. He's written thousands of articles with all of the studies to back up his research. He doesn't push products and he publishes only facts (backed by research). If there was ever an expert to trust in the diet industry, it's him (in my opinion).

He has a list of what he calls the "Daily Dozen"--a checklist of 12 things we should try to fit into our diet each day. It looks overwhelming when you see the list, but he said not to aim for perfection--it's just a guide to help make better choices. You can actually download the app with the checklist--it's free and there are no ads!--but here is the list (you should be able to click it to make it bigger):

I was surprised to see that I already get a lot of those things every day already. The missing ones are vegetables! To try to get more veggies this year, I'm going to do my best to follow this guideline for the Daily Dozen. That means eating leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, and other vegetables daily.

I started working on this last week and I'm inspired to keep going. There are a lot of vegetables that I like, but I don't cook them often because I'm the only one in my house who likes them. Jerry will try anything I make and he never ever complains, but I feel guilty making food that I "know" he won't like. He's always telling me to just cook whatever sounds good to me and he'll eat it. I try to do this, but I just feel too bad.

Dr. Gregor writes about how your tastebuds change as you change your diet (something I've noticed many times over the years) and so Jerry and I made a two-week challenge for ourselves. It doesn't sound like much of a sacrifice on my part, but I promise you it is HARD for me--I have to cook meals that sound good to me but that I "know" Jerry won't like. (I put that in quotes because we don't actually know if he'll like it or not.) And in return, he's going to eat only whole foods (including the meals I make) to see if his tastebuds start to change.

We only started this yesterday, but it's been interesting. While I have anxiety over it, Jerry is excited about it, hahaha. I made sweet potato taco bowls yesterday--roasted sweet potatoes with black beans and corn, taco seasonings, quinoa with lime, and a spicy cashew cream sauce. It sounded heavenly to me! But I would never have made that because it's not at all something Jerry would choose.

He has also promised to be completely honest about what he thinks of the dinners I make. I don't want him to tell me he likes something if he really doesn't. I was very surprised at how much he liked the taco bowls yesterday! He said it's something he'd definitely eat again.

The vegetables that I'm excited about eating are sweet potatoes, cauliflower, and mushrooms. If I can find a mushroom dish that Jerry likes, I'll be so happy! I want to make it clear that this wasn't my idea--Jerry is actually pretty excited about doing this challenge.

Anyway, I've been working on the daily dozen (and I love that I'm not striving to have a perfect checklist every day). It's only been about a week, but I feel good about it. Maybe by the end of 2024, I'll be able to tick all the marks on the checklist!

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Wednesday Weigh-In: Week 117 (and other stats)

Holy smokes! My heart feels so full of love and kindness from the comments on yesterday's post, and I can't tell you how grateful I am to have connected with so many of you. I've had a lot of amazing opportunities come my way since I started Runs for Cookies, but nothing compares to all of the friends I've made (whether online or in person). I don't just mean that in regards to yesterday's post, either. It's kind of mind-blowing to me how one little portion of my life (losing weight in 2009-2010) led to making friends all over the world.

I have some exciting numbers to post today, and I'm not referring to my weight (although I'm happy with that). I had my annual lipid profile done a couple of days ago! First, though, my weigh-in:

I was at 131.0 last time (two weeks ago), and my weight was at 129.8 today. So, I'm down 1.2 pounds and this time, I know it wasn't due to feeling overwhelmed. During my week away from the computer, I ate regular, healthy meals and it felt great to get back to a good routine.

I still haven't had any sweets--I think it's been about a month now?--which is totally unlike me. However, I *know* that if I do eat something sweet, I'm going to start craving more big time. I even made some peanut butter brownies today for my mom's birthday and I asked Noah and Eli to taste test them for me.

In the past, if I decided to forgo dessert, it was because I was trying to save on calories. Now, it's entirely based on the fact that it makes me crave sugar so much that I end up giving in--over and over. I don't think there is anything wrong with eating dessert now and then if I can control it, but I hate dealing with the cravings that follow.

Anyway, I was very nervous to get my lipid panel done; I have to get it checked every year for health insurance purposes. Last year, I'd been eating vegan for about nine months and my numbers improved. But this year, I've continued eating vegan and I felt like the bloodwork would be an accurate gauge of how my diet has improved my health (or not).

Background: Several of my family members have high cholesterol. And for the 20 years I've been having my cholesterol checked yearly, my total number has been high. My doctor has always said it's fine because I have an abnormally high amount of HDL ("good") cholesterol--it's always hovered between 90-100-ish. Every year, my doctor would write a note for the health insurance company stating that my risk of heart disease was negligible, and that the total is high because the HDL is high. (The insurance company charges a premium if your total cholesterol is high.)

When my total cholesterol hit a high of 285 a couple of years ago, I started looking more closely at the individual HDL and LDL ("bad" cholesterol) numbers. And when I saw how high the LDL was (173), I knew that the HDL wasn't going to out-benefit that number. It was scary-high.

I started a vegan diet January of 2022--and that was solely due to ethical and environmental reasons. I hoped my health would benefit, but that didn't play a part in my decision (if it had, I would have started eating vegan a long time ago). I know that my diet isn't "the norm"--especially in my family.

I never say anything about my diet unless someone asks, and I always hope that no one mentions it when I decline food at a get-together. I certainly don't expect people to cater to my diet. I don't want to feel like I have to explain my choices to people who have their minds set on what they perceive is the ideal diet. (It's kind of like when people ask why I don't drink. I'm usually the oddball for not drinking and if I explain why, they usually say something like "I could never do that". I don't ask people why they drink or why they eat meat--it's a personal decision for everybody.

When I get the questions/statements about "Where do you get your protein?" and "I could never eat that many carbs and lose weight", I don't bother to explain because they've already made up their minds that my diet is not healthy. (I actually eat more protein now than I ever did when eating meat and dairy. And I eat a LOT of carbs--rice, pasta, beans, bread--I love them.)

Even though I'm vegan for reasons other than health, I still want to be healthy. So, I was nervous about my lipid numbers. If they hadn't improved, I would maybe start to wonder if my diet isn't as healthy as I think it is. I want *proof* that I could, in fact, lower my cholesterol with diet alone.

I've always wanted to get my total number under 200. It has NEVER--not once--been under 200. Even in 2016, when I was at my lowest weight and running the best I've ever run, my total cholesterol was 226.

Since I became vegan, I stopped counting calories and focused on eating more fiber and more nutrient-rich foods. I haven't been running (which isn't a good thing, I know, but I only mention it because it won't have affected the numbers). Basically, I was hoping that getting my test results would give me proof that my diet is working well for me.

Finally, the numbers (compared with my numbers from before eating vegan)...

Total cholesterol (ideal is less than 200): 196! ("normal" for the first time ever). Down from 285.
HDL ("good"; ideal is more than 40): 95 (up from 92)
LDL ("bad"; ideal is less than 130): 92 (down from 173; the ideal is less than 130)

It's crazy to me that my LDL went down SO drastically. My doctor also ordered a test for my iron and ferritin, a CBC, and a basic metabolic profile. Last year, when I learned that the symptoms that had been bothering me for YEARS were likely from iron deficiency without anemia (low ferritin, borderline-low iron), I was desperate to get my ferritin level up. I was so tired of being freezing cold all the time and my ice chewing habit was out of control (I was eating the equivalent of a gallon of water a day in ice). Yes, it's ironic--freezing cold, but craving ice.

A few months ago, I started taking a high-dose iron supplement (vegan *and* easy on my stomach!) and I really hoped it would work to get my ferritin up. Last year, it was at an 8... and the normal range is 11-307 (ideally being over 100). My symptoms went away really quickly, so I was sure it was working. When I had it checked a couple of days ago, it was at 39. Still on the low side, but definitely an improvement from 8! I'm going to continue taking supplements and hopefully I'll get it up higher.

All of that aside, all of my numbers were in the "normal" range. I was actually kind of giddy when I got my results, haha--it was very validating to see that my choices are working well for me.

Thank you again for being so supportive and nice and understanding and just... wonderful. xo

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One Year Vegan, Part 2: Tidbits, Staple Ingredients, Positive Changes

This is continued from One Year Vegan, Part 1, where I wrote about things I wish I knew before becoming vegan as well as tips (that would have helped me in the beginning) for vegan-curious or new vegans. (You can find Part 1 here.)

Again, I didn't write this post to try to "covert" people, nor do I guilt trip or write about the ethical issues surrounding using animals for food or products. It's simply about my own experience over the last thirteen months of doing something I never thought I'd do!

Interesting tidbits I've learned:

Vegan and plant-based are not the same thing. When I first became vegan, I used the words "plant-based", because I assumed that was the new term for vegan (I see it everywhere now). A reader actually emailed me and helped me understand the difference. Vegan is to avoid all animal products and animal by-products mainly for ethical reasons, while plant-based is dietary (no meat, dairy, eggs, or honey--the typical things you imagine with a vegan diet). I chose to become vegan for ethical reasons regarding animals, factory farming, and the environmental impact of factory farms.

Cashews are a wonder-nut. I had NO IDEA the magic that happens when you blend cashews and water in a high-powered blender. Depending on the ratio of cashews and water, you can get everything from cashew milk to a thick cashew cream. And it's tasteless! You can add your own flavors to make it sweet or savory, or you can use it to add creaminess to all sorts of things from pasta to soup to vegan cheese.

Cashews + Water + Blender

White sugar is not technically vegan. What?! I was shocked by this. There aren't any animal products IN it, but white sugar is stripped of its color by filtering with animal bone char--so it's more of an ethical issue, rather than a plant-based one. Brown sugar and powdered sugar are usually made from white sugar, so they aren't vegan either. Now I buy raw sugar so that it isn't processed with bone char; and I can make my own brown sugar (vegan sugar + molasses) and powdered sugar (vegan sugar in a high powered blender). 

Aquafaba is the liquid that is left over from a can of chickpeas. And this liquid can be used as an egg replacement! I had never heard of aquafaba, let alone cook/bake with it. You can even sweeten and whip it into a vegan whipped cream. I've only used it a few times (like in a pumpkin pie that turned out amazingly well), but the last time I opened chickpeas, I saved the liquid and poured it into an ice cube tray. Once frozen, I moved them to a freezer bag. Now, when I need an egg substitute, they are waiting in small portions in the freezer.

Vegan does not mean healthy. There are hundreds of vegan junk food products--french fries, non-dairy ice cream, Sour Patch Kids, Oreos, Skittles, and a lot more. It's even possible to be vegan without eating a single fruit or vegetable (not that I'm advocating that!). 

BROWNIES!! These were amazing. Not at all healthy, but very tasty.

Gelatin is in a LOT of items you wouldn't expect. (Gelatin is produced from boiling skin, tendons, ligaments, and/or bones, usually from cows and pigs.) Even medicinal pill capsules are made with gelatin! There are several items that I guessed were probably vegan but when looking at the ingredients, I could see that there was gelatin in it.

Ingredients I NEVER would have imagined would become staples:

Nutritional Yeast- While the name of it makes it sound disgusting, nutritional yeast is called for in SO many vegan recipes. It doesn't look or taste like the yeast you put in bread or anything. You know the look and texture of fish food flakes? Well, nutritional yeast looks and feels like that, except it's a mustard-yellow color and it tastes nothing like fish food (or at least I don't think so).

I use nutritional yeast in almost all of the seasoning blends I make, pasta dishes, cashew cheese, pretty much anything that typically has cheese in it. When I read about it, people always mention sprinkling it on popcorn and basically using it as a condiment. I literally gagged when I tried eating popcorn this way--it was an ingredient I wasn't at all used to, an ingredient that tastes like nothing I've had before. Once I started adding it to things, I started to recognize the flavor and I'm not at all grossed out by it now. I buy this in bulk on Amazon--it's so much cheaper than the grocery store!

Turmeric- I don't think I'd ever used turmeric in my life until I became vegan. Then it seemed like I was using it all the time (for recipes). I've gone through 3-4 jars of it, so I recently bought a bulk-sized container that I refill my spice jar with. Turmeric is used for yellow color in a lot of vegan recipes.

Cashews- Like I wrote above, cashews are amazing. I buy these from Amazon as well.

Tofu- I can't even describe my obsession with tofu. I was missing out for 40 years! I keep silken tofu on hand in my pantry (I use this for tofu scrambles, desserts, and making seitan). I keep extra-firm tofu in my freezer and always have a couple of packages in my fridge. I use the extra-firm tofu for lots of dishes--but my favorite is to marinate it, then bake for about 45-50 minutes until it's crispy on the outside and kind of meaty on the inside. Then I heat a sauce (making an Asian-style sauce is SO fast and easy in a mason jar) until it thickens, stir in the tofu, and serve it over rice or another grain. I like to add vegetables when making the sauce--usually peppers or broccoli, but I just consider whatever I have to use before it goes bad.

This is so accurate for me. Before I started eating tofu, I saw it as the top picture!

Vital Wheat Gluten- I had never heard of this before, and the name of it makes it sound like it may cause cancer in the future or something, but it's used to make seitan--a faux meat that is actually pretty healthy! AND it's been around for centuries. Despite the "wheat" in its name, it's actually low in carbs (although we all know I don't avoid carbs) and has as much protein as meat. 

Miso Paste- I'd never heard of this before, either, but I use it SO frequently when cooking. It's described as adding a savory umami taste to things. I use it mostly in dishes where cheese is typically found.

Soy Milk- I used to buy almond milk when I was counting calories way back in the day because it was so low in calories compared to cow's milk. However, I decided to try soy milk for a few reasons that I won't get into, but I liked it so much more! It's thicker, like comparing whole cow's milk vs. skim, and possibly a little sweeter? I buy plain, unsweetened Silk brand soy milk and use it everywhere that I would have previously used cow's milk.

Pure Maple Syrup- This one was very surprising to me. Maple syrup is used to sweeten things and I use it everywhere from sauces to desserts. You can't taste the maple--it gets blended with more powerful ingredients--but it sweetens like sugar. I've also discovered that I get bloated when I eat regular sugar, but maple syrup doesn't bother my digestive system at all. Even when recipes call for brown or white sugar, I almost always replace it with maple syrup (since baking is so finicky, I don't substitute anything there; then again, I rarely bake).

Soy Curls- I'd never heard of these until I discovered Plant Power Couple, who raves about them. While a name like "soy curls" sounds like a very processed fake food, they are actually very minimally processed--they are even compliant with a Whole-Food Plant-Based diet. Soy curls are a meat substitute that are made of just whole soybeans that have been cooked, pressed, and dried--soybeans are the only ingredient. I use these anywhere that I would normally use chunks or strips of chicken. My favorite is in a stir-fry. When I get down to the really small bits at the bottom of the bag, I prepare them with barbecue sauce and it reminds me so much of pulled chicken or pork.

Black Salt- This is very common in vegan dishes that are meant to taste like eggs. I use this in tofu scrambles (the seasoning mixture that I make flavors the silken tofu). It absolutely reminds me of eggs--I would never try to fool someone, because it's not *that* similar, but I used to eat scrambled eggs frequently, and I don't miss them at all. A tofu scramble with veggies and toast with vegan butter makes a perfect meal when I'm on my own for dinner.

A few positives I've noticed from becoming vegan:

Lipid Profile: My LDL cholesterol dropped by 57 in eight month, and my HDL increased by 8! High cholesterol runs in my family, and by continuing to eat vegan, I'm hoping to prove that it can be lowered by diet alone.

My chronic fibromyalgia pain is gone. That happened within a few months of eating vegan--probably less than two months. I still keep waiting for it to come back, because it seems too good to be true, but so far, it hasn't flared back up.

When sweetening foods with maple syrup rather than sugar, I don't get bloated and gassy. It must have something to do with the unprocessed, natural maple syrup not being so hard on my body to digest.

I have an overall sense of wellbeing. It's hard to explain, but I just *feel* healthier. Even when I eat a relatively heavy meal, I don't feel gross and tired. I have more energy in general.

I've started really paying attention to the products I buy, and I learn new things all the time. I've switched brands of things like shampoo to a "cruelty free" brand (the product hasn't been tested on animals). I haven't gotten rid of my clothing and household items that have been made with animal products or by-products, because I feel that would be wasteful, but I will no longer buy them. I don't think I'll ever be a total extremist, but I do like to make positive changes wherever I can.

Going from omnivore to vegan made me love cooking again. There are SO many cooking techniques that I'd never heard of, ingredients that were totally unfamiliar, and flavor profiles that I enjoyed but couldn't quite place; I also started using my blender nearly every day, if not twice a day. And there is a vegan version of just about everything you can think of. I don't think I've ever come across a non-vegan food that there wasn't a vegan recipe for. I've used more spices and dried herbs than ever before! Each new recipe I make is an adventure--I haven't felt like that while cooking in at least a decade.

Eating vegan eliminates a LOT of the junk food I used to eat. Namely ice cream! Yes, there is vegan/non-dairy ice cream (and some of them are delicious!) but where I live, good luck finding vegan desserts. If I want something sweet, I generally have to make it myself. Being vegan also eliminates a lot of junk from menus at restaurants. There are definitely unhealthy vegan foods--a lot of them!--but it's nice to have some boundaries now.

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If you've been reading my blog for a while, you can see that my diet has made HUGE changes over the last year. It's hard believe it myself sometimes! I don't always eat healthy, but my choices are much healthier than they used to be.

This past year (I started a vegan diet on January 30, 2022) has been a huge culinary adventure and learning experience for me--and I hope that I continue to learn and experience more in the upcoming year as well :)

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One Year Vegan, Part 1: Tips for Vegan-Curious and What I Wish I Knew Before Becoming Vegan

It was really hard to title this. I wanted to wrap up a full year of all sorts of things that I learned since becoming vegan in January 2022, but there is SO MUCH. I've learned more than I could have imagined about animals, the environment, health, food, cooking, ingredients, and more. I learned a ton about MYSELF, even.

I have said from the beginning that I don't want to be one of the vegans that tries to push it on other people, share horrifying videos of factory farms, and guilt-tripping people as they eat a burger. Becoming vegan was a personal decision that I made for ethical reasons. If anyone wants to know anything about it they can always ask me, but I don't like to bring it up myself.

Occasionally, though, I may write a post like this one--this post is NOT those guilt-tripping things I mentioned, but rather a list of random "stuff" about being vegan for over a year now: what I wish I knew beforehand, unusual-to-me food I started eating, tips for other new vegans that I probably would have found helpful, etc.

I'll try not to make this *too* long, but you know me... ;)

(Edit: It was too long, hahaha. So I'm dividing it into two parts.)

What I Wish I Knew Before Becoming Vegan

It's so much easier than I thought it would be! I used to dismiss the idea immediately because I thought there was no way I could ever cut that many foods out of my life. I especially thought it would be difficult to eat a vegan diet in an omnivore family. If I had known it would be this easy, I would have done it decades ago. (It's crazy to me that I'm old enough to say "decades" ago when referring to my lifetime, haha.)

My digestive system would feel a million times better. I never knew my digestive system wasn't really feeling okay until I started eating a vegan diet--the difference was very noticeable. No bloating or stomachaches, very "regular", and just generally a feeling of well-being.

My chronic pain (which had been diagnosed as fibromyalgia) would completely go away. This is what is the most stunning to me out of everything. The chronic fibromyalgia pain started in (I think) 2018, and it was horrible. About a month or so--I can't remember exactly--after I started eating vegan, I realized that I was able to get out of bed easily. Then I realized it had been a while since I felt the pain. It hasn't come back! (I do still have chronic back pain, but it's confined to one vertebra that is messed up. I also still have occasional knee pain from when I knelt on a screwdriver--I think that will be a lifelong injury.)

That most of the "weird" foods I said I wasn't interested in trying have become staples in my house, haha. I'll write more about this later but, basically, a HUGE world of food was opened to me after I'd been vegan for a couple of months and was interested in experimenting with new recipes. I had NO IDEA the amount of dishes you can make with tofu, for example. I started to really enjoy cooking again!

My first attempt at cashew cheese. It's under the toppings, I promise!

A high-powered blender is pretty much a necessity. I had absolutely no idea just how often I would use my blender (I use the blender probably 6-10 times a week--prior to becoming vegan, I probably used the blender 20 times in a decade). On Cyber Monday, I managed to get a Vitamix for a GREAT deal--$225, when it's regularly $300. It's the least expensive model; I didn't need bells or whistles, just a blender that would completely pulverize things like cashews until it's so smooth you would have no idea that cashews were even in there. I still use my previous blender for making seitan because it has a dough blade, but I use the Vitamix for everything else. If I had known how much I'd use my blender, I would have gotten a Vitamix from the very beginning.

You don't have to eat "weird" or unfamiliar foods on a vegan diet. When I first became vegan, I was just trying to figure out how to swap things out for already-familiar ingredients. I cut out animal products cold-turkey without any sort of planning, so I just had to wing it for a little while before I started experimenting with new recipes and ingredients. 

Something I ate very frequently in the beginning was some sort of grain (rice is simple and familiar to everybody), some sort of bean (chick peas work well when replacing meat because they don't get soft like other beans do), whatever veggie(s) I may have on hand, and a sauce (I make sauces by putting the ingredients in a mason jar and shaking well, then heating on the stove until it thickens (I use cornstarch as a thickener in sauces). These are all things that can be made ahead of time, so I could just grab them from the fridge and assemble a bowl. It wasn't until I was in a good routine with familiar foods that I decided to try things like nutritional yeast and tofu.

Tips for new vegans or vegan-curious (from a new vegan myself):

Have a short list of go-to meals you can make that you always have the ingredients for. It may not be an ideal balanced meal, but it's nice to have a few recipes up your sleeve that you don't have to put much thought into when you're in a pinch. When you're having a busy day and are stressing about dinner, just pick a go-to. My favorite is Truffle Mac & Cheese--I always have the stuff on hand and it's DELICIOUS. It's not very healthy, so I try not to rely on it *too* much ;)

Don't get intimidated to try the "weird" vegan foods, but introduce them slowly. I would start with things you're used to eating, only "veganized"--swap out meat for beans, for example. Plant-based milk instead of cow's milk. Vegan butter instead of regular.

When you come across unfamiliar ingredients in recipes you want to try, find a few recipes with one unusual ingredient they have in common so that you're not buying a (potentially pricey) ingredient for just one dish. I buy most unusual ingredients (like vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, spices that I can't find at the grocery store, etc) on Amazon. It's almost always cheaper, especially when I buy a larger container of it. (Rather than continuing to buy the small jars of turmeric, for example, I bought a bag of it that will refill my turmeric jar probably 6-8 times. It was only a few dollars more than a single jar.)

If you have an omnivore family, there are lots of ways to make mealtime easier. I listed several tips on my post called "Meal Compromises to Please Everybody". And for more food ideas, I have a huge post full of photos, called "What I've Been Eating Since Becoming Vegan".

Don't expect vegan foods to taste the same as the animal products you are replacing. There are very few foods that I would say taste almost *exactly* the same as the animal product it may be trying to replicate. You will be disappointed if you expect tofu to taste and feel just like chicken! That's why I don't like it when recipes are titled "Vegan Chicken Nuggets" or something similar--yes, maybe it sounds better than "Tofu Nuggets", but it sets unrealistic expectations for omnivores or new vegetarians/vegans. Instead, I look at vegan animal product-alternatives as entirely different foods. I can make the vegan and non-vegan version look and/or taste very similar to each other, but there are few vegan dishes that I think would actually fool omnivores into thinking they are eating a familiar meat.

I asked Jerry if he had any ideas for this post, and he echoed everything I just wrote about about replacing meat. It's not going to taste exactly the same, but why does it have to if it tastes just as good? He also said that it drives him crazy when people add the word "vegan" in front of everything--"vegan bean dip", "vegan chili", etc. For someone who isn't vegan, hearing that word can automatically be a turn-off to even tasting something. I would never try to trick someone by lying, but I don't add the word "vegan" in front of things, either. I make "bean dip" and "chili". I do add "vegan" in front of something that just can't be avoided--"vegan cheese", for example. If I just called it "cheese", then I feel like it would be too misleading. This was a big tangent, so let's move on...

As time goes by, your tastebuds change. You realize that you don't miss the foods you thought you would because you are perfectly happy having similar plant-based foods. I'll use the Truffle Mac & Cheese as an example. I call it Creamy Truffle Mac or just Truffle Mac (macaroni noodles with a creamy truffle sauce). I used to make homemade macaroni and cheese frequently--it was one of my go-to's--and now I make the Truffle Mac. They don't taste alike, but for me, the Truffle Mac is absolutely an acceptable replacement for mac and cheese. I don't miss the cheese at all when there is an amazing creamy sauce to stir into the noodles.

Homemade vegan food tastes so much better than the prepared vegan food you can buy at the store. There are a lot of vegan convenience foods available, and I've tried a few that were pretty good, but I 100% prefer to make my own stuff. And most of the time when I look at the ingredients list on the package, I already have most, if not all, of the stuff at home already. Sometimes I'll even take a picture of the package and ingredients, then try to replicate it at home. Also, there are a million different recipes for the same dishes--so if I try one and don't like it, I can always just pick another. There are recipes for vegan versions of everything you can think of.

Just for fun: What is odd about this picture?

August 2022

A. Katie is wearing a dress.
B. Katie is drinking a mocktail.
C. Katie has salad on her plate.
D. All of the above.

Hahaha! Answer is D, of course. But seriously, who even am I?!

Okay, I'm going to end this post here and continue on Part 2 (which I hope to post tomorrow)!

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