We Made it to a Week!

     It may not seem like much, but one week on a vegan "diet" (I put diet in quotation marks because I hate that word and don't want to think of this as a diet.  For me, it's a lifestyle transition.  For Tim, it's a challenge he is enduring;-))  is quite an accomplishment for me and my husband.  Notice I didn't include my daughter in that statement.  She is still enjoying her beloved cheese and eggs.  Other than that, she doesn't eat very many animal products, but I'm not focusing on her being a vegan (or even a vegetarian, but she doesn't seem to love meat that much).  Luckily she has happily eaten most vegetables since she started solids at 6 months and can't get enough fruit.  She is also a big fan of beans so that is great, too.  She is still breast feeding so I don't have to worry about giving her cow's milk.  
    On Sunday I made a big batch of Barley and Winter Vegetable Stew. (Yet another recipe from 1,000 Vegan Recipes.  You'll see more variety in my recipe selection next week.  Promise.)  We had it for lunch and dinner because once dinner time rolled around I was just plain not in the mood to dirty the kitchen, cook, and clean the kitchen all over again.  And besides, Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest, right? We had this stew at my in-laws over the holidays so I knew we both liked it.  Next time I'm going to make my own stock as I'm sure this will really deepen the overall flavor.  Sorry all you visual learners, no pictures.  I have forgotten to take food pictures the last few days.  I will get back on that tonight.
     I am thoroughly impressed with the discipline my husband is showing and how well he is doing.  He went over to some friends' house on Sunday night and even though they had brownies for everyone, he declined and ate some peanuts instead.  You have to know my husband to appreciate the grandiosity of this event.  This is a man who if left on his own can easily polish off an entire pan of brownies and has done so.  There is only one person I know of who has a bigger appetite for sweets (you know who you are).  So he is truly doing a marvelous job with temptation and eating well.  That being said, he hasn't always had a 100% happy attitude about it.  With that in mind, I decided to prepare a safe dish for dinner Monday night, penne vodka.  Pureed white beans and soy milk stood in for the traditional heavy cream in the sauce and I didn't miss it at all.  It was a very satisfying dish.  Tim loves to put parmesan cheese on any kind of pasta dish, so I also made a vegan version with sesame seeds and nutritional yeast that he loved.
   Tonight I am making a vegetable skillet dish with quinoa so I will post about how it goes as soon as I get the chance.