Go Vegan Go!

In my plight to slim down and lose weight for my brother's wedding, I am not only trying to do yoga several times a week, but I'm also toying with the idea of completely changing my diet and going vegan. Now, my husband is a complete carnivore, the complete antithesis of a vegan and everything a vegan stands for. Can we say MEAT EATER?? He was Tyrannosaurus Rex in his past life, I swear! He's not aware of my new game plan yet and when he figures it out, I'm sure he'll be, to put it mildly, annoyed, but he'll get over it...after making fun of me for a few hours. So at the risk of sounding like an uber hippie, what's turned me onto vegan eating is the sheer practice of eating everything organically grown (which I already try to do anyway), stripped of chemicals, free of all dairy and all meat, and infused with super nutrients and natural detoxifiers and how good all of this is for your body. I'm sure that whole sentence just got an eye roll or several, but I don't care! I've recently discovered this restaurant and have fallen in love! I tried the rawsagna the other day and was so surprised at how good it actually tasted! I was expecting a bland blob of hippie food mixed with tofu, too much cumin and topped with something green and unidentifiable, but it actually tasted like lasagna and had similar textures and flavors. I was shocked! What shocked me even further was how GOOD I felt after eating it. It was like my body had a complete and total recharge. I had so much energy and felt like running a marathon! So why not try it out? I mean, if I like the food and it makes me feel so good, what's the harm in it? So, I'm going to try making a few recipes I found here and hope I don't overdose on tofu. Wish me luck!

Food Glorious Food!

As my little monkey is growing and getting to be a big boy, I find myself exploring with new and interesting foods for him to try. In the last 2 weeks, we've gotten him off of formula and started introducing cow's milk gradually. Amongst the hundreds of articles and books I've read over childcare and child nutrition, most have said that his body has had enough time to fully develop his digestive system by 12 months, so he can process cow's milk easier than he would've a few months ago. He seems to like it so far, all though he's a little more gassy than usual (which he gets from his daddy's side of the family anyway). We've also started giving him new fruits such as mangoes, blueberries and strawberries, which he LOVES! He already chows down on bananas, peaches, cantaloupe, pineapple, honeydew melon and watermelon. I'm think I'm going to try to experiment with chick peas and make some chick pea burger patties for him this weekend. Chick peas are a great source of protein, without being terribly loaded with unhealthy fats. I found a good website for some different and yummy recipes, which is the source of my new found inspiration. I've got to find a creative way to get some green beans into his diet, because he's notorious for spitting them across the room with vicious fury! So maybe I can grind some up and throw them in the patties for some extra greenery....we'll see. I might even try introducing honey into his diet. Honey is loaded with antioxidants, but it's not a great idea to give to kids under 12 months, for they are at risk for botulism, which is no bueno! So maybe I can come up with a homemade yogurt dish or something to add a touch of honey to, now that he's old enough. He's loving pasta now, so I'm trying to do different things with that and throwing in as many veggies with it as possible. He loves sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, corn, broccoli, zucchini, squash and avocado (all though, I think that's technically a fruit). I'm sure between Matt and I, we can come up with a yummy, healthy pasta sauce that he'll eat. I must admit that homemade food is SO MUCH cheaper and you get 20 times more than you ever would with the jarred stuff....besides you know exactly what goes into it and you can even get them to "help" you make it....we're still working on that last part....that's a work in progress at the moment! I've made some of his food before, but must admit that I relied on the organic jarred stuff a lot, from lack of time. So it's a goal of mine to make more of his food, now that he's old enough to eat almost anything. Again, this is all a work in progress, so we'll see how it goes.