Well I must say I'm quite impressed with myself. One day of living as a vegetarian. Whew!
I have been using a couple of books as resources: Forks Over Knives (the book), and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition. Forks Over Knives seems to be a summary of the documentary by the same name, but the best part is that there are lots of recipes in the back. The Guide has fewer recipes, but lots of information regarding the different ingredients that might be unfamiliar, how to eat when pregnant or how to feed your kids, what are some staples for your pantry, etc. Lots of good stuff, but it can get a little overwhelming!
Grocery day is Thursday in the Norvell household, so needless to say, things are pretty sparse around here, and I had not decided to jump into this plant-based diet on May 1st until about...oh...April 29th. So, all that to say, we were a bit of a mish-mash today, and we weren't strictly following the diet as explained in Forks Over Knives. Which I think is okay. It's better than nothing!
Here were my meals today:
Breakfast: Grape Nuts with raisins and skim milk
Lunch: Whole wheat pita pocket with lots of different things (spinach, bell pepper,cilantro, red beans, peanuts, apples) and raspberry vinaigrette. We weren't too sure how it was going to turn out, but all the different textures was very good!
Snack: Apple
Dinner: Whole wheat penne pasta with a homemade veggie tomato sauce. Sourdough baguette with butter and garlic. Yeah...the baguette and butter wouldn't really fall under the "whole foods, plant-based" diet, but it was good, and we needed to get it out of the fridge, right? Right.
Miscellaneous: One peppermint and Crystal Light pink lemonade. I don't think either of those are in a strict plant-based diet.
I also weighed this morning--after breakfast, which I completely blame for the surprise extra pound I wasn't expecting to see on the scale. Dang Grape Nuts.
I'll be tracking my weight throughout the month, and we'll see what happens.
I was pleasantly surprised how my "we have nothing to eat" dilemma at lunch turned into a pretty tasty pita pocket. I also liked not worrying about thawing out meat...or cooking meat. I like meat, but cooking it can gross anyone out. I wasn't hungry during the day, either. I think I need to be more conscious about drinking water--something I've always struggled with!
Tomorrow is our weekly Wednesday night church dinner. It's the last one of the school year, so we won't have to worry about it for the rest of May, but guess what's on the menu? If you guessed salad and veggie lasagna, you're wrong. It's hamburgers and hot dogs. So...dilemma, dilemma. My husband says that eating meat at church functions (once or twice a week, generally) wouldn't be enough to really make a difference. I disagree, especially on fried night. Seriously, everything but the cole slaw is fried on those nights. Even as a meat-eater, all that fried food can turn my stomach! Anyway, for tomorrow night, we'll just have to see. Like I said, grocery day is Thursday, so pickin's are pretty slim 'til then!
Thanks for hanging with us! Do you have any questions about a plant-based diet? Any suggestions for us?
I suggest finding out which plant can produce cheese. And fast.
As for the meat thing at church, I'd say that would throw a wrench in the system. So you might need to suggest having a veggie option or bring your own.