For awhile now, Jon and I have been eating a mostly vegetarian diet. I say mostly, because we occasionally eat meat and poultry, and very often consume fish. Our reluctance to eat meat began for health reasons and now has transcended to being aware of how animals are raised and the impact of buying commercial meat on our environment and local economy.
Blah, blah, blah, right? If you eat meat, you probably aren’t going to concern yourself with the why’s of why I don’t eat a lot of it. And honestly, I’m not hear to preach. I mean, I love bacon, I could seriously eat a huge plate of Southern BBQ, and Chick-fil-A is one of my favorite places to visit. I’m not exactly miss-innocent over here.
So, what I’m going to do next week is going to be a real challenge. Beyond giving up meat and fish of all kinds, I’m going vegan. For a week. No milk, no cheese, no Greek yogurt, no honey. No half and half for my coffee, no ooey-gooey pizza for dinner.
Now that I feel like shedding a few tears, let me share with you why I’m doing this one-week challenge. First off, I want to see if being vegan can taste good. I’m not a tofu lover, and I’m not going to eat a veggie product that is shaped to look like a hot dog or any other meat product. I’m going to be making dishes that I think most people would enjoy and hopefully not notice that they are vegan. Next, I want to see if I feel healthier for it. Will my body crave animal protein? I know I’ll be craving my daily yogurt breakfast. But, if I give it up, will I start to feel like I need it less?
Another reason? I’m doing it to encourage my family to eat from our home more. It’s not exactly easy to go out and order vegan fare, so for at least one week we will likely be eating most, if not all meals from our own kitchen.
And, last but not least, it gave me another topic to pin about on Pinterest. And y’all know how I love to pin. For a glimpse at what I’m considering for our vegan menu, click here. If you have any vegan recipes to share with me, I’m all ears. Our Week-of-Vegan begins on Sunday. Wish me luck and a bountiful selection at the farmer’s market on Saturday!
P.S. Graham and Will will not be doing the vegan challenge along with us. I don’t think either of my kids would wanna give up their milk for starters. But, I will have them try the vegan foods we make and supplement with some of our more usual fare.
You might enjoy reading this, Katie. http://www.seriouseats.com/tags/The%20Vegan%20Experience
Thanks! Will definitely check it out!
I have a great Bell Pepper stuffed with Quinoa recipe, which I will paste below. It calls for parmesan cheese, so I just did a quick search and found this vegan substitute. http://veggie-licious.com/misc/parmesan-cheese-substitute/.
Recipe:
Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers
Stuffed Peppers:
2 bell peppers, halved and seeded, stems intact
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
7 oz diced tomatoes
5 oz spinach
1 tbsp pine nuts
Pesto:
2 cups basil or spinach
1/2 clove garlic
1.5 tbsp parmesan cheese
1 tbsp pine nuts
1.5 EVOO
1 tsp sea salt
1 pinch ground pepper
1. Prepare peppers. Preheat broiler to high. Place bell peppers skin side up on a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil. Broil until bell peppers start to soften, about 10 minutes
2. Combine quinoa, broth and tomatoes in a medium pot. Bring to boil on high heat, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10-12 minutes, until liquid is absorbed. Add handfuls of spinach to quinoa mixture and stir to combine. Fill pepper halves with the mixture.
3. Prepare pesto: add basil, garlic, parmesan, pine nuts, oil, salt and pepper to a food processor and pulse until finely shopped. Add 2-3 tbsp water as needed to thin pesto, if desired.
5. Top stuffed peppers with pesto or serve on side. Sprinkle remaining pine nuts on peppers.
I will be cheering you on for this challenge!! I think it is awesome. Something I’ve toyed with for a while, too. I’m still working on my “flexitarian” lifestyle. I have an awesome cookbook, “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian” – it’s one of Mark Bittman’s, who I love, love, love. Let me know if you want to borrow.
Lastly, check out cleaneatingmag.com. I love CE and subscribe to their mags. If you want to borrow any of those, let me know, too!
-Nikki
Awesome! Love Mark Bittman too! Will definitely be making your stuffed pepper recipe! If you find any others, pass them along. Lord knows I’ll need the help! 😉
Right there with you Katie. This is week three for us. There is definitely a learning curve and a lot more time in the kitchen, but it’s well worth the effort. Good luck!
~Noelle
Cool! Have any good recipes to share? I’d love to have a few to start off the week! Just went shopping to stock up on vegan products!
We’ve enjoyed this soup recipe: http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/eating/recipes/soups/white_bean_kale_soup.html
Also, if you haven’t heard of it, the Humane Society of the United States has a campaign called Meatless Monday and you can sign up to have them email you a recipe once a week. I’ve noticed that they are usually vegan versus just vegetarian. Some have definitely been better than others. You can sign up here if you are interested: http://www.humanesociety.org/forms/meatfree_recipe_subscriptions.html
Good luck!
Elke
Thanks for the recommendation! And yep, on the emails for Meatless Monday! I’ll definitely be trying the soup. It’s only Monday, but I’m already getting tired of the grains and veggies combo. I need to mix it up!