A Nerd Like Me

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Vegan Power

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Everyone has been asking how we’ve been doing with our new vegan/vegetarian diet, so I thought I’d keep you informed. Dinners have been great (with the exception of the corn and red pepper chowder I made last night…thanks anyway, Jim). I quit taking pictures after the first night (because I LOATHE taking pictures with artificial light), but I’ve found that any vegetable-based soup can be veganified, even the creamy ones with the right milk replacer, and anything that involves black beans and avocado is my bestest friend.

Lunches have been easy as well. Drew takes a hummus and veggie wrap and I fill up on a non-dairy frozen burrito topped with lettuce, salsa and avocado. Mmmmm…..

We’ve found that dairy replacers aren’t bad at all. I still can’t stomach almond milk, but I’m not a milk-drinker anyway. I can cook with it and have no problem. Drew actually enjoys drinking the stuff. Yuck. We’ve found vegan cream cheese, butter, coffee creamer and ice cream that we love. I won’t even venture into the realm of fake hard cheeses though. I’ve been a hard core cheese lover my entire life (I swear it’s in my genes), so I can’t even go there.

I have had one glitch…I lost 3 pounds fast. Like in the first week. After tracking my diet on My Fitness Pal, I realized that I’m not getting nearly enough protein, despite the fact that I’m eating tons of nuts and beans. So I starting eating eggs for breakfast and a cheese snack each day at work and my protein intake is under control. Drew is also losing a little weight, but he needs a low-protein diet, so it’s ok for now.

I’ve also pretty much quit looking at vegan-specific recipes. They are all full of weird and crazy ingredients. I would rather look at a regular vegetarian recipe and replace any dairy that might be there. I prefer to keep my chemically manufactured food intake to a minimum, thank you very much.

Thank you to everyone for your love and support! I’m really excited to try making a vegan cheese ball for an upcoming holiday party. I’ll be combining vegan cream cheese with a vegetable dip seasoning packet, then rolling it in chopped walnuts. I have high hopes, people. High hopes indeed.

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