On Saturday morning I ate some vegan cinnamon raisin toast with Earth Balance before heading out to a florist appointment with my sister (for her wedding).
After our appointment we met our dad for lunch. I had some mixed vegetables with rice and a spring roll (there were not a lot of vegan options at the Thia restaurant we went to).
For dinner I made a miso noodle soup with mushrooms, tofu and green onions.
Vegan Miso Noodle Soup
8 cups water
1/2 cup miso paste
3 T soy sauce
sauteed sliced mushrooms (saute them ahead of time and set aside)
vermicelli noodles
Green onions
Bring the water to a boil. Remove some of the water and mix it with the miso paste (I use a blender to mix them fully). Add the miso water back to the pot. Add soy sauce and noodles (approx. 200 g). The soup is ready when the noodles are cooked.
Put some sauteed mushrooms, green onions, and finely diced tofu into the bottom of the bowls. Fill with the soup. The hot broth will heat up the tofu (I used extra firm).
Last night we went out to celebrate a friend's 30th birthday!
I drank red wine and a martini, and snacked on some vegetable tempura.
Today is day 7 of my vegan-for-a-week challenge.
The hubby made vegan pancakes for breakfast, and they were quite possibly the BEST pancakes I have ever had in my life. This will be the recipe that we use from now on when making pancakes from scratch.
BEST Vegan Pancakes
(Recipe very slightly adapted from Salt and Paprika)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 T baking powder
pinch of salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 T canola oil
1 cup unsweetened Almond Breeze
1 tsp vanilla extract
Mix dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients.
Add wet to dry and stir (don't over mix).
Cook on a sprayed grill flipping when little bubbles appear on the surface.
I dipped mine in 100% pure maple syrup.
For lunch we had Amy's vegan pizza (with artichokes and mushrooms).
We have been invited to a dinner party this evening so our vegan week is officially over (one meal early).
Final Thoughts on Vegan Week
1) It was WAY easier than I expected it to be.
2) I didn't have any cravings during the week.
3) There are some foods that are surprisingly vegan! (Did you know that Oreos and Ritz crackers are vegan!!?? I didn't eat either of these, but it was interesting to find this out).
4) I didn't "cheat" at all on the vegan diet this week, and I didn't even miss cheese which really surprises me!
5) The hubby and I enjoyed this week, but it was just for a week ... we will now resume our usual eating habits which consist of a little of everything (but possibly more vegan choices in the future now that we have seen how good they can be).
Tonight we are going to a dinner party, and luckily tomorrow is a provincial holiday (Family Day) ... so the hubby and I both have the day off.
Could you go vegan for a week? Day? Forever? Would you want to? Why or why not?
The hubby and I liked the challenge of eating differently for a week, and might try something like this again some time ... maybe caveman for a week :-) Hehe.
