Vegan May

Tom and I committed to eating a vegan diet through at least May.  Plant based only....no meat, no dairy, eggs, cheese, etc.  So far.....so good!

 It was very helpful that my young friend Kristin's parents gave Tom and I a "fruit of the month" gift for 3 months from Harry & David's!  These giant strawberries arrived over the weekend.

 Breakfasts are smoothies or an occasional slice of Ezekial bread toasted with almond butter & fresh fruit spread.  Tom takes either leftovers for lunch or Amy's brand vegan frozen lunches.  I usually do leftovers.  Dinners look like this:

Black bean tacos & salad

Salad with avacado, raw veggies and black bean dip

Baked potato covered in veggies and salad

Salad, veggies and black bean dip (love that spicy dip!)

Roasted potatoes, cauliflower and strawberry spinach salad

Spaghetti squash, green beans & tomato with balsamic vinegar /olive oil

Whole wheat pasta with mushroom & asparagus w/salad

Greens, peppers and bean salad

Whole wheat wrap with bean dip & veggies

...with an added fruit salad

Filling for baked Ratatouille

 The biggest issue is when we're out.  In fact we picked May because we had few social events (we thought)! We had one lunch at an Indian food truck which only offered a creamed spinach and chickpeas in some sort of sauce. Ick.  Nasty, except for the Naan bread!  Another night we went to the Nationals Ballpark to see the opera and we ate from the vegan stand Field of Greens.  A grilled veggie wrap and a portabello mushroom sandwich were both quite tasty. Our wonderful small group leaders prepared lots of veggies when they had our group over for dinner last week.  Beth even bought us a vegan dessert...an individual apple & cherry pie!  We did cheat a bit as someone had brought gorgeous rolls that they had picked up from the Amish market.  Heavenly!  Friday at Mount Vernon I had a side salad along their famous peanut & chestnut soup.

We both feel great.  Lots of energy.  Not losing weight as quickly as I would have liked but definitely feel healthier... and that was the whole point!